Minnesota, Spring 2011

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SPRING 2011

The Campus Club Turns 100 The Poop on Superbugs Thinking Outside the Lanes

A Doctor and a Gentleman

The Uâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quiet icon, pediatrician Paul Quie

Bright and Bold.

Innovative and Inspiring.

New Facility Opening – March 26!

• Private patient rooms • 24/7 Pediatric-only emergency department • Minnesota’s only pediatric kidney center To discover more about our new children’s hospital, visit uofmchildrenshospital.org/newhospital.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

M I N N E S O TA

Volume 110 • Number 3 / Spring 2011

page 44

Columns and Departments

Features

2 8 10 12

20 A Doctor and a Gentleman

President and CEO’s Column Editor’s Note

Pediatrician Paul Quie is a healer, peacemaker, mentor, and diplomat—and the University’s least-known icon.

Letters

BY JAY WEINER

26 Bridge Builder

About Campus Goldy cavorts his way to the top, a Moos discovery in the northwoods, and Eastcliff in miniature

14 Discoveries

Laurie McGinnis, director of the University’s Center for Transportation Studies, is steering CTS toward becoming a resource to the world.

BY KEVIN FEATHER LY

Nature’s dwindling ability to store carbon, tanning bed ignorance, and new insights on sexual maturation

18 First Person

“A Clean Break,” an essay by Mary Winstead

page 18

38 Gopher Sports

Three decades and counting for throw coach Lynne Anderson, a new coach for Gopher football, and more

42 Off the Shelf Merit Badges, by Kevin Fenton

44 Arts & Events The University Opera Theatre presents Die Fledermaus

46 Alumni Profile

Tom Matkovits helps rebuild Haiti.

56 Campus Seen

Our photo finish

Association Pages 49 Alumni Association Angle 51 National Board Chair’s Column w w w. M i n n e s o t a A l u m n i .o r g

page 46

30 The Poop on Superbugs

University of Minnesota environmental engineer Tim LaPara believes wastewater treatment facilities may have become breeding grounds for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

BY GR EG BR EINING

34 Room to Ruminate

The Campus Club has come a long way—but hasn’t strayed from its purpose—since its founding 100 years ago.

BY TIM BR ADY COVER PHOTOGRAPH by Sher Stoneman. This page, clockwise from top:

Lauren Lammers and David Walsh, photograph by Sara Jorde; Tom Matkovits, photograph by Carlos Cazilos; illustration by Scott Bakal

Astrophysics Major, [your name here]

Scholar

When you include a gift to the University of Minnesota in your estate plan, you ensure a personal legacy while giving tomorrow’s innovators the chance to shape a better world —or universe.

To find out how you can give lift to the lives of future students, call U of M Foundation Planned Giving at 612-624-3333 or email plgiving@umn.edu.

President and CEO

Opportunity amid Change

“T

he definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Credit for that timeless quote has been given to many people, including Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, and the writer of ancient Chinese proverbs. But no one knows for certain who first said it. That in itself seems a little nuts.

Make certain of one thing—no one will call the University, or the Alumni Association, insane in 2011. During this unprecedented time of leadership transition, both at the University and at the state capitol, we have the opportunity to effect change. New leadership brings new ideas—the opportunity and responsibility to challenge the norm, imagine a different model, or simply ask “why.” There is no better time for us, each member of the University community, to take an honest look at how we can contribute to advancing excellence.

Phil Esten is president and In a few short months, Eric Kaler will succeed Bob chief executive officer Bruininks as president of the University; Mark Dayton of the University has begun his tenure as governor; many new faces of Minnesota Alumni Association. occupy seats at the capitol; and a new strategic plan will guide the Alumni Association.

The climate of change allows us, as an alumni association, to examine everything we do, determine what value it adds to our key stakeholders, and decide whether or not we should continue doing it or invest resources in other programs and services.

Internally, our staff calls this process of pushing our boundaries “thinking outside the geode” (a clever alternative to “thinking outside the box,” given that we work in the less-than-traditionally-shaped McNamara Alumni Center). Are we serving alumni in a meaningful way? Are we making the most of new technology? How can we become a model alumni association? These are some of the many questions we are asking.

While engaging thousands of stakeholders in our strategic planning process, one thing has become evident: Alumni want and expect many different things from their alumni association. In the end, however, we can all agree that with every change we are presented with a new possibility. We are listening to you and will use this feedback to help draw our road map for the next five years. We have a very proud past, and we need to take the time to thank and honor those who have made our accomplishments to date possible.

But we can also look to an extremely bright future—one that will present possibilities we have not even begun to envision. I want to thank each of you who have shared your thoughts about the Alumni Association and the University with me over the past year. I take each of your comments to heart as I share in your pride and passion for our alma mater. Together we can raise the level of impact we have, collectively and individually, as we imagine the next era of excellence at the University of Minnesota.

—Phil Esten (Ph.D. ’03) For updates on the Alumni Association’s strategic planning process, visit our website at www.MinnesotaAlumni.org.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK O’LE ARY

Homegrown Spaceman,

From generation to generation...

Cambria, Davisco and Davis Family Dairies proud supporters of education.

CambriaUSA.com

The University of Minnesota Alumni Association will be the most influential organization in advancing the University’s goal to be one of the top three public research institutions in the world.

NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Committee

Ertugrul Tuzcu, ’78 Maureen Reed, ’75, ’79 First Vice Chair Kent Horsager, ’84 Vice Chair Susan Adams Loyd, ’81 Vice Chair Kipling Thacker, ’76, ’84

Bonnie Welshons, ’82 Patrick Schott, ’97 Past Chair Archie Givens, ’66, ’68 President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Esten, ’03

National Chair

Vice Chair

Chair-elect

Secretary/Treasurer

Yvonne Cheung Ho, ’76, Linda Hofflander, ’83, Dan McDonald, ’82, ’85, Alison Page, ’96, Beth Pinkney, ’92, Robert Stein, ’70, Sandra Ulsaker Wiese, ’81, Todd Williams, ’91, Ted Zwieg, ’78

At-Large Members

Dave Abbruzzese, ’99, ’05, John Campe, ’62, Jan McKenzie Anderson, ’62, ’73, Susan Johnson, ’69, Bernadine Joselyn, ’78, ’01, Jane Wildung Lanphere, ’75, Tom McDonald, ’79, Martin Schultz, ’97, Patricia Spence, ’71

Geographic Representatives

Judy Beniak, ’82, Henry Blissenbach, ’70, ’74, Leah Brus, ’06, John Cuningham, ’62, Jim du Bois, ’87, Lisa Finsness, ’08, Gayle Hallin, ’70, ’77, Marshall Lichty, ’02, Alexander Oftelie, ’06, Jo Ann Omlie, ’71, ’74, ’80, Jim Pichler, ’92, ’03, Roy Martin, ’89,

Collegiate Alumni Society Representatives

Allied Health (Medical Technology, Mortuary Science, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy); Biological Sciences; Dentistry; Design; Education and Human Development; Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences; Law; Liberal Arts (Band, Journalism and Mass Communication); Science and Engineering; Carlson School of Management; Medical; Nursing; Pharmacy; Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; Public Health; Veterinary Medicine

COLLEGIATE ALUMNI SOCIETIES AND AFFILIATES

CHAPTERS AND CONTACT AREAS Minnesota

Austin/Albert Lea, Fargo/Moorhead, Glacial Ridge (Willmar), Grand Rapids, Northern Dakota County, Red Wing, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Croix Valley, South Central, Southeast (Lanesboro), Southwest, West Central Lakes (Alexandria)

National

Arizona (West Valley), Boston, Central Florida, Chicago, Columbus, Colorado, Dayton, Detroit, Eastern Nebraska, Gold Coast (Boca Raton/Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach), Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Madison, Milwaukee, New Mexico (Albuquerque/Santa Fe), New York City, North Texas (Dallas), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Puget Sound, St. Louis, San Antonio/Austin, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Sarasota, Southwest Florida (Naples/Ft. Myers), South Willamette Valley, Suncoast (St. Petersburg/Clearwater/Tampa), Washington, D.C. Canada (Toronto, Winnipeg), China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tianjin, Xi’an), Costa Rica, Finland, Guam, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan (Tokyo), Korea (Seoul), Morocco, Norway, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan (Taipei)

International

To join or renew, change your address, or obtain benefit information, contact the Alumni Association at McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040; 800-UM-ALUMS (862-5867), 612-624-9658; fax 612-626-8167; e-mail umalumni@umn.edu; Web www.MinnesotaAlumni.org.

MAKING THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CONNECTION

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GOVERNANCE President

Robert Bruininks

Board of Regents

Clyde Allen, chair Richard Beeson, ’76 John Frobenius, ’69 Dean Johnson

Linda Cohen, ’85, ’86, vice chair Dallas Bohnsack, ’60 Venora Hung, ’02 David Larson, ’66

Anthony Baraga, ’65 Maureen Ramirez Steven Hunter, ’73 Patricia Simmons

The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

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MINNESOTA

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SINCE 1901

President and Chief Executive OfďŹ cer

Phil Esten Editor

Shelly Fling Managing Editor

Cynthia Scott Contributing Editor

Jeff Johnson Copy Editors

Susan Maas Contributing Writers

Tim Brady, Greg Breining, Kevin Featherly, Katy Read, Laura Silver, Jay Weiner, Mary Winstead Design

Barbara Koster Design Editorial Advisory Board Members

John Adams, Jim du Bois, Gayle Golden, Deb Hopp, John Foley, Mary Koppel, Cathy Madison, Dennis McGrath, Stephanie Roebuck, Jean Ward For advertising rates and information

contact Ketti Histon at 612-280-5144 or histon@msn.com Minnesota (ISSN 0164-9450) is published four times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association for its members.

Copyright Š2011 by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association McNamara Alumni Center 200 Oak Street SE, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040 612-624-9658, 800-UM-ALUMS (862-5867) fax 612-626-8167 www.MinnesotaAlumni.org To update your address, call 612-624-9658 or e-mail alumnimembership@umn.edu Periodicals postage paid at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and additional mailing ofďŹ ces.

Postmaster: Send address corrections to: McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040.

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Editor’s Note

A Tweetable Moment

I

USE YOUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION DISCOUNT! Experience LearningLife at the University of Minnesota: evening short courses, one-day seminars, presentations by internationally recognized speakers, and more.

Even better, as an Alumni Association member, you enjoy exclusive discounts!

Use your Alumni Association discount on: • Rare Books, Illuminated Manuscripts, and Antique Maps: Treasures of the Bell Library (evening short course) • Great Conversations: Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, with Law School Dean David Wippman (evening presentation) • Introduction to Minnesota Songbirds (evening short course with field trips) • Art History 101 (Saturday seminar) • and many more!

Request a catalog or visit our Web site for a full list of events.

cce.umn.edu/learninglife 612-624-4000

joined the social network Twitter in January but have yet to “tweet”—to dispatch some important or clever thought to my 10 followers. Once I do tweet, if it’s quippy or outrageous enough, my followers might “retweet” the brilliant passage to their combined 30,611 followers. At which point—if my understanding of how this works is correct—I will become a twit.

I eagerly anticipate that moment.

Meantime, I’m waiting for just the right tweetable thought to come to me. I have plenty of ideas that can be summed up in 140 or fewer characters. That limit might sound restrictive. But, in fact, every sentence in this column is 140 or fewer characters, including the spaces between the words—and the punctuation too. So, I’m not concerned about having enough room to fit in what I have to say; I’m no Henry James who needs to go on and on about the drapes.

Some of my thoughts are important and need to be said, urgently. Recent examples include, to my husband: “Honey, you’re sitting on the leeches.” To the plumber: “Sure, I’ll pay you $12,000 to unplug that drain, just as soon as I get off the phone with Tony Soprano.” And to my boss: “Why, I’d love to stay late to work on that.”

But as critical as these declarations have been to me Shelly Fling on my personal journey, would anyone else care to know this stuff? I feel that I’m doing Twitter’s estimated 190 million users a favor by not tweeting about these happenings. It’s not like I’m balancing on a light pole in Tahrir Square waving a flag with one hand and posting updates on a revolution with the other.

In 2009, a Texas-based website research firm analyzed a random selection of tweets over a two-week period. It found that only 9 percent of Twitter postings had pass-along value while 40 percent were “pointless babble.” Since joining Twitter, I’ve had to face how painfully mundane my life is. If I were required to tweet once a day, here is how my Twitter journal would begin: “I think the buttermilk went bad, but how do you tell?”

“Just paid $7.99 for a carwash but 2 blocks later the car was dirty again. Rats.”

“I offloaded Canadian coins into the tip jar at Starbucks.”

“The cat yawned and that made me yawn too. Just writing that made me yawn again. . . . And again!”

Each day I come closer to accepting the prospect that I might not ever become a proper twit. Perhaps I could augment my tweets with some harmless embellishments.

Is that allowed? For instance: “Just got the gov & legislators to shake hands on a state budget. Off to meet Zygi to pick up $1 billion check for Vikes stadium. L8R!” Too thick?

I might have to settle for tweeting about the amazing things other people are doing.

For instance, I could mention our story about sewage expert Tim LaPara and what his mother’s endearing nickname for him is. But I think my first tweet will be about our cover subject, Dr. Paul Quie. That, however, will be a challenge. I don’t believe 140 characters will be sufficient for me to adequately express my admiration.

But I’ll do my best to make my first tweet worthy of this quiet but awe-inspiring icon of the University of Minnesota. And, if I’m lucky, by the time this magazine hits the mail I will be a full-fledged twit.

■ Shelly Fling may be reached at fling003@umn.edu.

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Life is full of possibilities.

No matter what season of life you are in, there are endless opportunities and choices ahead. Some choices are life changing while other choices make us see things in a new light. This is the time to embrace what’s ahead.

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Talk to one of our helpful TCF Bank Representatives at any of our convenient locations, or call 1-800-TCF-BANK for assistance with checking, savings and loan options.

©2011 TCF National Bank. Member FDIC. www.tcfbank.com.

Letters A FEW “FARM” FACTS The cover article “Who’s Minding the Animals?” [Fall 2010] raises some serious issues, notably the increasing lack of professional veterinary care for tens of thousands of farmed animals in some counties.

A dairy operation with some 7,000 cows is not a “farm,” but an industrial system of animal production. In such concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), animals suffer varying degrees of crowding, restriction of movement, and frustration of normal behaviors and succumb to stress-related diseases that are a productioncost write-off. CAFOs have become the epicenters for viral epidemics, food-borne illness, and the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, creating resistant strains of bacteria harmful to man and beast alike.

CAFOs are point sources for air, surface, and groundwater pollution and have impoverished rural communities by contributing to the extinction of the diverse nexus of smaller family farms that were once the backbone of sustainable agriculture across the Midwest.

Should state and federal public funds be provided to veterinary students who pledge to work in CAFOs when it is in the best interests of society and the animals to phase them out? Fostering the adoption of more humane, healthful, and and sustainable farming practices would be a win-win situation for all, especially the animals.

Michael W. Fox, D.V.M. Golden Valley, Minnesota

THE WIN WALLIN LEGACY On January 7, over a thousand people gathered at the McNamara Alumni Center to celebrate the life of Win Wallin (B.S. ’48), one of Minnesota’s very finest. His accomplishments are legendary, ranging

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from leading Medtronic to world-class status to creating the Wallin Education Partners, which has granted over $32 million in scholarships to deserving and needy public high school students seeking to attend the University of Minnesota.

Win knew how to bring out the best in others because he brought out the best in himself. One of his closet colleagues from the same generation is Carl Platou (B.A. ’49, M.H.A. ’51), who parachuted behind enemy lines in the Pacific during World War II and rose to become the head of Fairview Hospitals. It was their love for the University of Minnesota that brought these two together. Carl assembled a team of prominent Minnesotans and formed the dean’s Board of Visitors for the Medical School. He asked Win Wallin to serve as chairman, and then they went about raising some $300 million [from the state] to advance medical research in Minnesota. Just think about the thousands and thousands of lives that will be positively affected by this visionary medical endeavor. What a magnificent legacy.

And the good works continue with the announcement that Bob Pohlad will take over as chair of the Board of Visitors. I do not know Bob well but have been impressed with his quiet leadership and “let’s do it” approach. Seems to me that the legacy lives on.

Arne H. Carlson, Governor of Minnesota, 1991–99 Plymouth, Minnesota

Submit a letter at www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/opinion or write to Letter to the Editor, Minnesota Magazine, McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Letters may be edited for style, length, and clarity.

If it doesn’t pass her checklist, it won’t make it in the cart.

She takes responsibility for what she feeds her family.

And she makes a real commitment to know the story behind the food she buys.

Some of it she even lives firsthand.

She’s a Minnesota soybean farmer.

And her standards carry through to every decision she makes on her farm.

She calls it just being a good farmer, we call it Responsible, Ethical Agriculture for Life. Know the R.E.A.L. story.

Get it straight from real Minnesota farmers at mnsoybean.org

About Campus Fifty-nine years of clawing his way to the top paid off for Minnesota’s most beloved critter when Goldy Gopher was crowned champion at the 2011 national college cheer and dance team championships in January. An emotional Goldy let out a cascade of jubilant squeaks but was otherwise speechless following his victory. It was the second honor for Goldy in as many months; in December NBC Sports also named him the nation’s best mascot.

To see Goldy in action go to www.

MinnesotaAlumni.org/multimedia.

Goldy wasn’t Minnesota’s only national champion to emerge from the competition. For the second straight year the Gopher dance team placed first in both the jazz and pom divisions. To watch their stunning performance, go to www.gophersports.com, and click on spirit squads under “teams.” ³&\QWKLD 6FRWW

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Overheard on Campus “I think this is a bold endeavor, because there are people in our country who have essentially made a living vilifying and demonizing all things Islamic. For those people this might be very threatening, because what it represents is people really shedding light on a topic they want to control the public square on.”

—Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison (J.D. ’90) commenting on the University of Minnesota’s new Islamic Law and Human Rights program.

Wherefore Liberal Arts?

What Moos Stashed in His Boathouse

By 2015 the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts (CLA)— the U’s largest college—is likely to be smaller but more vital, relevant, and cost-effective, according to “CLA 2015,” a long-range strategic plan unveiled in November. The CLA 2015 Committee’s unflinching assessment of the college and its future concluded that if current funding patterns continue, drastic cuts will be needed. That can be a good thing, said committee co-chair Christopher Uggen, if CLA is smart about key strategic decisions such as which programs to keep, how many students to admit, and how to measure CLA’s success. To listen to an interview with CLA Dean James Parente and two student members of the CLA 2015 Committee, go to www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/CLA2015.

President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address, in which he famously warned Americans that a “militaryindustrial complex” might come to overshadow the nation’s political, social, and economic life, has always been something of an enigma for historians. Through the decades they have disagreed as to whose idea the speech was, whether it was carefully crafted or written quickly, and who the chief wordsmith was, among other matters.

As it turns out, the answers to these and other questions were to be found in six musty, mouseMalcolm Moos infested cardboard boxes that once belonged to former U President Malcolm Moos (1967–74), who had previously served as Eisenhower’s speechwriter. Moos’s son, Grant, found the boxes last fall; they’d been piled for decades in a corner of the family’s boathouse in northern Minnesota. Grant sent them off to the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, where archivists discovered that the papers reveal much that had been unknown or in dispute: that Eisenhower himself conceived the speech and its central message, that Moos guided its evolution through 29 distinct drafts, and that Ike, sometimes stereotyped as a taciturn, even inarticulate military man, was deeply involved in the process throughout.

In its story on the find, the New Yorker mused, “Had Moos vacationed in Florida rather than in Minnesota, the documents might have disintegrated.”

Very likely. But Moos, a native Minnesotan (indeed, the first to rise to the U presidency), chose to spend his leisure time near a lake in the north woods—and by such happenstance does our understanding of history grow. —Jeff Johnson

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GOLDY PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY NELSON; MOOS PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES; LIBERAL ARTS ILLUST RAT ION FROM THE BRAD YEO COLLECTION

OMGoldy!

A Labor of Love

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH KOHANEK

s a 13-year-old growing up in St. Paul, Barbara Bentson loved to watch family friends Elsa Mannheimer and Markell Brooks create a delicate miniature dollhouse. The dollhouse was a replica of the Brooks family’s graceful, two-story Georgian house, called Eastcliff, situated high on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Over the years the dollhouse became a beloved fixture in the lives of the Brooks family children and grandchildren. When the family donated Eastcliff to the University of Minnesota in 1958, the dollhouse was dilapidated from years of use.

But it’s dilapidated no more. Bentson and five members of the Brooks family enlisted 12 artisans who worked thousands of hours during the past three years to bring it back to life. Bentson, 81, unveiled the creation in December at Eastcliff, the official residence of the president of the University of Minnesota.

The initial plan was to restore the dollhouse, but it was in such rough shape that repairs were impossible. So Bentson and her team salvaged as much of the furniture and accessories as possible and set to work rebuilding the rest. Bentson, Marney Brooks, and Virginia Brooks donated funds to cover the cost of the renovation.

A longtime patron of the University, along with her late husbands Edwin Braman (B.A. ’43, M.A. ’51) and Larry Bentson (B.S. ’43), Bentson considers the dollhouse a tribute to its original creators, Markell Brooks and Elsa Mannheimer, and to President Bob Bruininks and his wife, Susan Hagstrum. “They presided at Eastcliff with elegance and unmatched cordiality,” Bentson says.

The dollhouse is on permanent display at Eastcliff.

—Cynthia Scott

w w w. M i n n e s o t a A l u m n i .o r g

Above: A cross section of the dollhouse reveals an exact replica of Eastcliff as it existed in the 1940s.

The Christmas tree, lower middle, has real lights and the grandfather clock, far right, keeps perfect time.

Left: Barbara Bentson Below: Bentson holds a secretary, left, and a dining room chair, right.

Each family member’s monogram is stitched in needlepoint in the chair cushions. Miniaturist Peggy Meyer of Winona, Minnesota, spent 864 hours needlepointing the cushions and the dining room rug.

S p r i n g 2 0 1 1 M I N N E S O TA

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Discoveries

A Growing Tradeoff

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ature’s capacity to store carbon is dwindling as croplands replace forests and other native ecosystems, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Stanford University, Arizona State University, and the Nature Conservancy.

The study, an analysis of the world’s existing carbon stocks and global crop yields, found that the problem is especially acute in the tropics, where expanding agriculture has claimed tropical forests that act as massive carbon sinks. When those forests are cleared, nearly twice as much carbon is released into the atmosphere as when temperate-region forests are cleared. Researchers say that suggests the need to intensify agricultural production on already-converted land rather than put new fields into production. Currently, 11 percent of tropical land and 20 percent of land in temperate regions is farmed.

Carbon is present in all known life forms and moves naturally between the biosphere, oceans, and atmosphere in a process that allows it to be continuously recycled. Human activities, however, accelerate that process by rapidly converting carbon stocks in trees and other plants to carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas.

Researchers say the study is an important tool for governments, nonprofit organizations, and businesses engaged in commercial carbon exchanges to better understand the tradeoff between food production and sustaining the environment.

The study appeared online November 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ecologists have long known that the tropics are home to more species than temperate areas are.

But a new study by a University of Minnesota researcher in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, along with a colleague at Stony Brook University, upends previous explanations for why this is so.

The traditional explanation was that organisms, armed with the extra solar energy and moisture of the tropics, could use those resources to evolve into, and sustain, more species.

But when researchers looked closely at salamanders in temperate and tropical regions of North America, this notion evaporated. Their work revealed that the slight seasonal temperature change in the tropics makes a variety of habitats stable, allowing organisms to adapt to them. In contrast, in the temperate southern mountains of Appalachia, salamanders experience a wide range of conditions. This has a homogenizing effect that works against the evolution of new salamander species.

Researchers say their findings could prove valuable in finding suitable habitats for salamanders and other species threatened by climate change. The study was published in the November issue of Ecology Letters.

Too Much or Too Little D = Frail When it comes to the benefits of vitamin D, moderation is the key. That’s the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, who found that older women who had too much or too little vitamin D in their blood were more likely to be frail than those with moderate amounts.

Researchers followed 6,300 women age 69 and older for 4½ years and found that those with low blood levels of vitamin D at the outset as well as those with high levels were likely to be frail. A low level was defined as 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) or less, and a high level as 30 ng/ml or more. Women with vitamin D levels between 20 and 29.9 ng/ml were at the lowest risk of frailty.

The study appeared in the December issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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GROWING T RADEOFF P HOTOGRAP H BY GERRY E LLIS; STABILITY PHOTO, S EBAST IAN KEN NERKNECHT/MINDEN PICTURES

Not the Heat, but the Stability

ILLUSTRATION BY JON KRAUSE

Ignorance Is Skin Deep

Teaching the Brain to See

Eighteen percent of women and 6 percent of men questioned in a University of Minnesota School of Public Health study use indoor tanning beds, despite firmly established links between the practice and skin cancer. Those who used indoor tanning beds were also likely to use spraytanning products, the study found.

When researchers asked indoor tanners to name ways to prevent skin cancer, the most commonly suggested method was wearing sunscreen, followed by avoiding the sun and wearing a hat. Only 13 percent of women and 4 percent of men suggested avoiding tanning beds. Researchers suggested that people might be unaware of the dangers of indoor tanning because of conflicting messages from the indoor tanning industry on its possible benefits, such as getting more vitamin D from moderate exposure to ultraviolet rays.

The study appeared in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology.

The brain’s visual system can learn to perceive subtle patterns quickly, a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts and College of Science and Engineering has found. The findings could help shape training programs for people who must learn to detect patterns quickly, such as doctors reading X-rays or air traffic controllers monitoring radar. They could also help adults with visual deficits such as lazy eye accelerate the development of training procedures to improve the eye’s capabilities.

Researchers looked at how well subjects could identify a faint pattern of bars on a computer screen that became progressively more faint. They found that over a period of 30 days, subjects were able to recognize fainter and fainter patterns. Before and after this training, they measured brain responses using electroencephalography (EEG), which records electrical activity along the scalp produced by the firing of neurons within the brain. Researchers found that learning increased the strength of the EEG signal.

The study appeared in the November 10 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

You’ve mastered the technology.

Now master the business.

TO REGISTER FOR A FREE INFORMATION SESSION

The U of M’s prestigious Master of Science in Management of Technology combines the business foundation of an MBA with tech-specific leadership training.

email mot@umn.edu or call 612-624-8826

The MOT program is for experienced engineers and scientists like you, accomplished technology leaders on the fast track to upper management positions as CTO or CEO.

March 16 March 28 April 13 April 28 All sessions begin at 5:30 p.m.

Near downtown Minneapolis

In four semesters, while you continue to work, you’ll learn powerful management skills you can apply in key areas like these: • Strategic technology management and innovation • Technology product development and market launch • Global competition and collaboration strategies • Technology foresight and forecasting • Your own real-world, work-based final project Find out more about an MOT master’s degree from the College of Science and Engineering’s Technological Leadership Institute. Call 612-624-8826 right now to register for a free upcoming MOT information session.

To learn more, visit mot.umn.edu S T R AT E G Y • I N N OVAT I O N • E XC E L LE N C E w w w. M i n n e s o t a A l u m n i .o r g

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15

Discoveries Support Isn’t Always Supportive

Grid Expectations

Period Piece

A team of international researchers led by physicists at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering has discovered a novel type of magnetic wave that could help improve superconducting electric wires used in national electrical grids. The finding is a significant breakthrough in understanding the phenomenon of high-temperature superconductivity in complex copper oxides, the discovery of which won a Nobel Prize in 1980. Scientists have been trying to understand the phenomenon ever since.

Researchers bombarded the copper oxide crystals with intense beams of neutrons. The neutrons themselves are magnetic, and by carefully measuring how these particles were scattered from the crystals, the research team was able to show the existence of unusual magnetic waves involving oxygen atoms.

The study was published in the November 11 issue of Nature.

An international research team that includes a researcher from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health has identified 30 new genes responsible for determining the age of sexual maturation in women. Previously, only four genes that contribute to the maturation process had been identified.

A number of the genes newly identified as playing a role in triggering early menarche, or onset of the first menstrual cycle prior to age 9, were previously known to be obesity genes. Thus, the findings help explain why girls who are obese tend to have earlier puberty. Further, researchers discovered that many of the genes play a role in body weight regulation or biological pathways related to fat metabolism.

Early menarche is linked to a variety of chronic adulthood diseases, including breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes. Diet and physical exercise also play a role in early menarche. Researchers believe their findings will allow health care professionals to design effective interventions for the complications of early-onset puberty. One of the next steps, they said, is to determine whether some of these same genes also influence sexual development in males.

The study was published in the November 21 issue of Nature Genetics.

✏

Discoveries is edited by Cynthia Scott. University of Minnesota Alumni Association members may access many of the journals that published these studies through the Libraries Online member benefit. Go to www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/Libraries.

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ILLUSTRATION BY K ATHERINE ST REET ER

If you really want to support your spouse or partner through a stressful time, stop trying so hard to be supportive. That’s one conclusion of a study by University of Minnesota psychologists who explored under what circumstances support is most effective.

Offering support in the form of giving advice or encouragement to someone in need is typically considered a positive, generous act. However, the study revealed that such demonstrations of support could make the recipient feel vulnerable, anxious, or ineffective in the face of a stressor.

Instead, “invisible support,” such as expressions of concern without advice, was more effective in helping reduce the recipient’s level of anxiety. The researchers say understanding the dynamics of support between intimate partners is likely to inform counseling and clinical approaches as well as future research.

The study was published in the December issue of Psychological Science. To listen to the researchers discuss their findings, go to www.

MinnesotaAlumni.org/support.

Because adopting a room gives a child every chance.

Adopt A Room Kids like Brent deserve the best care available—with all of the comforts of home.

At University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital— where inspired ideas can become revolutionary cures—we’ve designed customized private rooms for kids and their families to help improve outcomes and accelerate healing.

Your room can be home to miracles. Find out how you or your company can sponsor an Adopt A Room: 612-625-1440 adoptaroom@mmf.umn.edu www.uofmhope.org

AClean Break Life was supposed to unfold and be fulfilling according to a neat and trusted plan.

But sometimes plans get a little messy.

I

COME FROM A LONG LINE OF HOMEMAKERS, CATHOLIC WOMEN

FIRST PERSON

over the house, they served as daily reminders of a life that had become whose approach to housework was sacramental, their immaculate houses completely unmoored. cathedrals of order. They performed their purification rites in countless I turned at first to what I thought daily tasks like scrubbing floors and scouring bathtubs. They laundered would be the obvious solution to my mountain ranges of towels and sheets and boiled diapers in cauldrons that quest for meaning and my urgent smelled like Fels Naptha soap. They plunged their hands into hot soapsuds need for income: cleaning other with the same reverence they brought to dipping their fingers into holy people’s houses.

Through friends of water. The skin on their hands may have blistered from this kind of abuse, friends I found a few clients and soon but the scars were like the stigmata: living symbols of their holy sacrifices. In was cleaning the beautiful homes of short, those hands were clean. ¶ These were women with schedules written women my age who were married on kitchen calendars that were adhered to like Holy Days of Obligation: Monday washto attorneys and stockbrokers and ing, Tuesday ironing, Wednesday shopping and errands, and so on until Sunday Mass stayed home during the day. While and pot roast. It rarely wavered, and our lives were orderly and predictable because of it. they met friends for lunch, I polished the silver tea service in a graceful dining room and dusted diploThere was a right way and a wrong way to do things, virtues mas from Princeton or Dartmouth that hung on the wall of an and vices that separated the saints from the sinners. Cooking oak-paneled den. pots were scoured with Castile soap and fine steel wool, and But cleaning the homes of these women only put my life doing it any other way meant scratching the aluminum surface into stark relief. We were all in our thirties, but I was divorced, that was supposed to be shiny enough to reflect your distorted going to school, and living in a studio apartment. We all had face looking back at you. Each spring and fall, my mother tore young children, but I had to leave mine in the care of an elderly apart the entire house. Carpets were shampooed, mattresses neighbor who lived across the hall. Betty and I would leave our flipped, and slipcovers hung on the line. apartment doors open so she could keep an eye on the kids and, Because I was female, I was drafted into these rituals in ways at lunchtime, come over and unwrap the bologna sandwiches that constructed the moral framework for my adult life. Getting I’d left in the refrigerator. While I was waxing hardwood floors, married, having children, and keeping house became the sacred my kids were lying on the unmade Murphy bed, watching TV language of my mother tongue. and making obstacle courses for their GI Joes in the folds of the And so I spent a good deal of time as a twentysomething wife blankets. I often drove home in tears and locked myself in the and mother washing diapers, making beds, and scouring bathbathroom to soak in a hot tub, trying to feel clean again. tubs: daily tasks that connected me at the root to generations of I was searching for the comfort that once had come from women whose well-scrubbed homes were the mirrors of their housework, but the old rituals had lost their power to bring very souls. There was great meaning in that connection. I had a meaning to my life. So after a few months, I put away the mop and ready-made raison d’être. I fit in. the scouring powder and took up an unfamiliar set of tools: the But I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s. None of these powerful creative writing classes I was taking in college. Instead of doing female role models worked outside the home, and all of them housework, I wrote about it. But each time I sat down at my typestayed married for life no matter what. So when my marriage writer, a cacophony of female voices filled my head, beckoning fell apart, the psychic architecture that had held me up since me to return to the safety of husband, home, and housekeeping. childhood collapsed as well. I had been a homemaker, and now Which brought me to the turning point. my home was broken. Becoming a single mother, full-time I began to write about my south Minneapolis childhood. I college student, and apartment dweller felt far worse than the remembered my mother’s spring housecleaning and the trips post-divorce readjustment people kept warning me about. It felt my sister and I took to the coin laundry on the corner, our Radio like failure, as though no life would ever be as fulfilling as the one Flyers piled with limp, stale-smelling bedspreads. I wrote about I was raised to live. Housework had to go to the bottom of my stuffing them into the enormous washers, inserting the quarto-do list, behind attending classes, studying, caring for my three ters that my mother had hidden beneath the piles, measuring children, and part-time work. And though I learned to live with out the powdered Tide, and pushing the button. dusty bookcases, dirty dishes piled in the sink, and toys strewn all

E S SAY BY M A RY W I N ST E A D ~ I L LU ST R AT I O N BY S COT T BA K A L

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But with every word that appeared on the page, the voices of my mother and her sisters became a relentless Greek chorus of shame. Every time I tried to draft a story or construct an outline, the chorus circled around me chanting about sticky countertops and dingy laundry.

For a while I could wave them away and concentrate on my writing again, remembering how my sister and I looked at comic books in the corner of the coin laundry and pulled out the cookies and chocolate milk my mother had sent along with us. But then the chorus would up the ante, preying on my guilt about my own parenting with reminders of how they baked homemade chocolate chip cookies and always made sure that there was enough milk in the refrigerator.

It became a struggle of survival; it was them or me. They needed me to validate their way of life; I needed to break a new

path. I would not return to the life I’d been raised to live, and I’d come too far to turn back, even if I’d wanted to.

I had to find a way to banish these voices. So I got up from my desk, walked over to the dining room table, and pulled out the chairs. In a loud voice, and with my three kids looking up from the television as though I’d lost my mind, I told them all—my mother, my seven aunts, my grandmother, and a celestial army of female ancestors I didn’t even know I had—to sit down and shut up.

I was angry and powerful. I turned off the television, told my 7-year-old to fold the basket of clean laundry, my 4-year-old to empty the wastebaskets, and my 3-year-old to put all the toys back in the toy box.

One by one they obeyed me, wideeyed and wordless. I must have been a little scary; I even scared myself.

When I sat back down to my story, the washers in the coin laundry had groaned to a halt and my sister and I were shoving the heavy wet chenille into front-loading dryers and watching through the round windows as the bedspreads tumbled dry.

In my apartment, the women seated at the table looked wounded but remained silent. My kids were hard at work, glancing up at me from time to time, their faces registering fear, probably wondering if I’d start talking to ghosts again. On the page, my father picked up my sister and me on his way home from work and helped us fold the bedspreads—warm and fluffy from the dryers—and stack them in the backseat of his car. And I was triumphant, having called a truce between these two parts of my life.

Two decades later, I continue to juggle my desire for domestic order with my need for a creative life. And into my Greek chorus I’ve invited new role models and advisers: artists and writers, cooks and housekeepers, sinners and saints.

My mother still scolds me about the streaks on the living room windows, but it doesn’t bother me the way it used to. I think I’ve honored the life she led, and I understand now that I got to choose a direction for myself that she couldn’t have dreamed of for herself—and never had the chance to put into words.

■

Mary Winstead (M.F.A. ’00) is a writer who lives in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

First Person essays may be written by University of Minnesota alumni, students, or faculty or staff members.

For writers’ guidelines, visit www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/firstperson.

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19

A Doctor and a Gentleman

Pediatrician Paul Quie is a healer, peacemaker, mentor, and diplomat.

He is the University of Minnesota’s least-known icon. And the world needs more like him.

P

AUL QUIE

drives the back streets on a snowy winter morning. The earflaps of his tweed cap frame his face. His Norwegian mittens hug the steering wheel of his 1997 Camry, which he bought used. The car has 159,000 miles on it.

Quie, the most senior physician on the staff of the University of Minnesota Medical School, makes the fourmile commute from his home in St. Paul without having to negotiate the rush of Highway 280 and Interstate 94 or the clogged lanes of University Avenue. “I go this way to avoid the tension headaches, the merging traffic,” he says. “I guess I’ve been a peace-seeker all my life.”

After parking the Toyota in an underground ramp off Washington Avenue, Dr. Quie (pronounced kwee) takes the stairs up to the skyway level and heads for the Mayo Memorial Building, his workday destination for the past half-century. His route takes him past structures named after men he learned from, worked with, or worked for—Wangensteen, the great surgeon; Diehl, a former Medical School dean; Moos, a former University president—and then to Mayo’s sixth floor, where he settles into his office at the International Medical Education and Research (IMER) program, of which he is codirector.

“As long as they want me to be here, then I’ll be here,” Quie says. His desk is uncluttered, his office walls hung with academic honors and souvenirs from his global travels. He chuckles and his voice softens. “Don’t ask me why, but I just still love coming here.”

Paul Gerhardt Quie is 86 years old. He has bright blue eyes and thinning gray hair. When he takes off his sport coat, his dress shirt hangs a bit loose on his 5-foot-11, 178-pound frame. He’s a farmer’s son, a pediatrician, a world-renowned infectious disease and immunology scientist, a Regents Professor Emeritus, a father of four, a grandfather of six, a veteran marathoner, a nimble dodger of controversy, a symbol of health in every way. He’s the med school’s institutional memory, and the University’s least-known icon.

Says Richard Andersen (M.D. ’75), a longtime colleague of Quie’s on the Department of Pediatrics faculty, “There is among many of us a certain hero worship—and a certain nostalgia that our world is not producing Paul Quies anymore.”

By Jay Weiner » Photographs by Sher Stoneman 20

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Paul Quie (left) meets his brother Al for breakfast at least once a month to talk about their work and lives. They are both high achievers in their professions— medicine and politics, respectively—and are plagued by a long-standing sibling rivalry.

M

innesota was in the midst of a polio epidemic in the summer of 1953 when Paul Quie, fresh out of Yale University Medical School, began his internship at Minneapolis General Hospital, now Hennepin County Medical Center. On his first day, he performed 10 spinal taps. Four of his patients were in iron lungs. Two would die within days.

It was as if, in these earliest hours of doctoring, his future was being charted. He found infectious disease both horrific and fascinating; he learned that there was anguish, but also joy, in treating sick children. Within a month he had determined that he wanted to become a pediatrician. It suited his spirit. “I loved the mothers and fathers as much as I did the children,” he says.

Quie did his pediatric residency at the U, where the labs were filled with science stars. Among these was Lewis Wannamaker, a

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pioneer in the study of pediatric infectious disease. Wannamaker’s work on streptococcal infections had led, by the early 1950s, to a major breakthrough in the prevention of rheumatic fever. He was to be a mentor for Quie, and an example of the heights to which a researcher might aspire.

By 1957, when Quie’s residency was coming to an end, he faced a choice: go into “retail” medicine, treating sore throats and chicken pox at a typical practice, or remain in the emotionally intense, intellectually stimulating world of a teaching hospital, where what he saw at the bedside could make his work at the lab bench better, and vice versa.

As he interviewed for positions off-campus, he grew frustrated.

“It was all about money, all money,” he says, disdain still in his voice. “It turned me off. The business part of it just turned me off.”

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Wannamaker offered him a fellowship in infectious disease, and Quie took it eagerly. He soon launched his own immunological investigation. Each year, perhaps 6 to 10 children were being hospitalized at the U with what was then called fatal granulomatous disease, a hereditary immune-system disorder that led to recurrent severe infections—liver abscesses, pneumonia—that did not respond, in the long term, to antibiotics. The patients

might improve for a while, but then they’d regress, with most dying by the time they were 10 years old.

As Quie’s investigations went on, he came to focus on neutrophils, the white blood cells that, in most people, help fend off invading bacteria. In these sick kids, he found, the neutrophils didn’t kill infections. The infections won. For five years he studied the cells, balancing his research with his clinical work, and in the end he developed a new treatment protocol: treating affected children with early, massive, and continuous doses of antibiotics. One measure of his success was that he changed the name of the illness. It became chronic—rather than fatal—granulomatous disease, or CGD. Still a very serious illness, but no longer an instant death sentence. Patients could survive beyond childhood, and often much longer.

In 1967, Quie published his CGD findings and won international recognition for his work. “I’ve lived on it ever since,” he jokes. But it wasn’t the boost to his reputation or his subsequent “footnote immortality” in esoteric journals that gave him a charge. It was the microbiological discovery itself that thrilled him, the long years of investigation leading to a conclusion that would change lives.

“It’s not always possible to cure,” he says, “but we can work on healing. I like to think of myself as a healer.”

P

aul Quie’s Norwegian Lutheran ancestors came to Minnesota in the 1850s, settling near the tiny town of Dennison, 11 miles south of Northfield. Quie grew up on the farm there,

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the youngest of four children. He walked a mile to a one-room schoolhouse past a memorably aggressive bull. He worked the farm with his father and older brother, Al. There were 30 dairy cows, 70 sheep, 100 hogs, and 250 chickens. Farming was to be his life, or so he thought.

On October 3, 1941, when Quie was a 16-yearold sophomore, his high-school principal called him out of class. There had been an accident. Quie’s father, Albert, was in the hospital in Faribault, 18 miles away. Quie rushed to his father’s bedside, after stopping home to do the most pressing chores.

Even in a crisis, you can’t let cows go unmilked.

“I remember it to this day,” Quie says. “My father’s face was the color of the white sheets.” His left arm was gone, chewed up in a machine as he harvested soybeans.

Within months, the United States had entered World War II, Quie’s brother Al had joined the Navy, and Paul had become indispensable on the farm. He worked there full-time until 1946 when, at the age of 21, he began studying at St. Olaf College in nearby Northfield. To his surprise, he earned A’s in math and chemistry. Medical school beckoned. He applied to Yale and was promptly accepted. His internship brought him to Minneapolis, and his residency kicked off a 58-year relationship (so far) with the U of M. It’s been a long time since Paul Quie milked a cow.

Generally speaking, pediatricians find themselves on the low end of the medical world’s power, ego, and income scales. They don’t own the swagger of surgeons. They don’t command the deference of adult-disease specialists. But for someone who thinks holistically, who understands that a patient is more than an assemblage of molecules, pediatrics is a good place to be. Being sensitive isn’t a flaw, it’s an asset. At Yale, Quie says, one of his teachers gave medical students “permission to cry.” At Minnesota, where Quie began teaching in 1958 and gained Regents Professor status in 1991, he also taught that tears were allowed. Nor did he shy from showing grief when his own patients lost battles. “I cried,” he says. “Many times, I cried.”

“Paul’s teaching style was so different,” says Paul Kubic (B.S. ’69, M.D. ’74), now a pediatric pulmonologist in St. Paul. Going on rounds as a med student, Kubic recalls, could be “intimidating and, at times, painful” due to professors’ aloofness and tendency to chastise.

Not so with Quie. “Paul focused on the correct answer and taught you about it,” says Kubic. Quie was hands-on; he examined patients with his students. “When you left your rounds, you’d not

only learned something, you felt good about yourself. That was so unusual in those days. Paul had a genteel, effective teaching style.”

Richard Andersen describes Quie’s effect on his students—and others at the med school and in the hospitals and clinics—with a compelling image: “Walking through the hallways at the University with Paul was like going [along] a road of motion-activated illumination. He would light up the faces on either side of him. I knew they weren’t lighting up for me. They were lighting up for Paul.”

Quie bears a deep affection for medical students. When they graduate, he tells them, “You’ve been given the greatest gift that’s possible. You now have something you can help other people with.

This responsibility for another person’s life is what you learn to deal with as a student. You’re blessed.”

Such tenderness confirms that his agricultural roots run deep— that he remains, as IMER codirector Dr. Phillip Peterson puts it, “a cow person.” Indeed, until about 10 years ago Quie even had a recurring dream about cows: He’d forgotten to milk them. “Coming home and hearing cows in pain [made it] a real nightmare,” he says, and “an awful tragedy for those cows.”

Nowadays his farming is confined to the small, shady yard of his home near the St. Paul campus, where he tends to his garden full of impatiens, tulips, and crocuses. In the summer, animal lover

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Above: Almost every weekday, Regents Professor Emeritus Paul Quie can be found in his office at the U or meeting with medical students or faculty. Opposite page, top: Quie often rides the inter-campus bus between the East Bank and St. Paul, where he lives. Opposite page, bottom: In 1993, Quie was made an honorary doctor at the University of Lund, in Sweden, and given a top hat in recognition of his achievements.

that he is, he live-traps squirrels—by his count, 54 in 2010—and releases them along the Mississippi River. On nice days, when he doesn’t want to drive to work, Quie walks the four blocks to the inter-campus bus stop for his trip to the East Bank. Fittingly, the walk takes him past three gigantic bronze bulls.

Says Peterson: “Paul loves plants, he loves cows, and he loves people, particularly little ones.”

H

e loves his older brother, too, but as even-keeled and peaceful as Paul Quie is, he is capable of being irked, if only a tiny bit. He admits to “early-onset sibling rivalry” with his brother Al, who is 16 months older.

“My brother came back home [from WWII] with a Navy uniform and a big white scarf, looking like Lawrence of Arabia,” he remembers. “I got used to the adulation of Al a while ago.”

It got worse. By 1955, Al was a Minnesota state senator. By 1958, Al was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1979, Al

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Quie became Minnesota’s 35th governor.

“That was heady times,” says Paul Quie. “I remember the [gubernatorial] inauguration. I remember the darned trumpets.

They were just biblical. The sibling rivalry broke loose when those trumpets blew.”

Al Quie, now 87 and still riding horses, bursts into laughter when told of his kid brother’s comments. Then he mentions a sore point of his own. Remembering that in 1993 Paul Quie was

made an honorary doctor at the University of Lund, in Sweden, Al Quie says, “He got a great top hat for his scientific work. I never got a top hat.”

S

eventeen years later, the hat sits on a shelf in Paul Quie’s office, where, during a recent interview, he shook his head at the mind-boggling advancements that have occurred during his medical career. The same year he became a physician, the DNA double helix was discovered. The heart bypass was being perfected. Right here in the neighborhood, in the buildings where he has worked, several types of leukemia have been cured via bone marrow transplants.

Over the years, Quie has been honored for lifetime achievement by pediatric, infectious disease, and immunodeficiency organizations. He succeeded famed immunologist Robert A. Good (B.A. ’44, M.D. ’47, Ph.D. ’47), who pioneered bone marrow transplantation, as the prestigious American Legion Professor of Pediatrics at the U. He was elected the first president of the International Immunocompromised Host Society, one of his proudest peer honors. In 1995, when he turned 70, a symposium called “The Child with Unusual Infections” was held in his honor, with researchers and clinicians from around the world presenting papers.

Certain terms—mentor, diplomat, consensus builder—capture Quie perfectly. Others—agitator, lightning rod, grandstander— simply don’t.

“He doesn’t really like conflict,” says Peterson, his codirector at IMER, who was a protégé in Quie’s lab in the 1970s.

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“Paul stays away from politics and prefers to probe exact sciences,” says his brother the politician. “He didn’t get into any of the political battles at the University.” No small feat.

“I’m not a fighter,” Quie says. “I just feel like somebody has to be a healer.” His wife of 59 years, Betty, calls him a “peacemaker.”

When he gets e-mails from elected officials seeking his input on, say, national health care, “my stomach gets in a knot,” he says. “I feel passionate about it, but I have a little mantra that there are enough controversies.

You have to have the wisdom to select things you can do something about.”

He did have more to say on the topic some 15 years ago. Back in the 1980s and ’90s, U history professor Clarke Chambers undertook an oral history project, interviewing key University figures to preserve their insitutional memories. Quie was an obvious interview subject, and Chambers sat down with him in 1994. This was after the Clinton administration’s failed attempt at national health care reform.

Quie praised the notion of “managed care” and lauded California’s Kaiser Permanente system and health care in Norway.

Chambers asked Quie if he had discussed his views with others in the med school. “Never,” replied Quie. “I wouldn’t dare mention it outside these walls to my colleagues in practice. . . .

They would yell at me, and they would talk about how terrible it’s going to be, and how the Canadians are so unhappy. . . . You’re the only person, outside of my wife, that I have dared say how I feel to.”

He’s also not interested in going back over old medical school troubles, even those long blown over, such as the 1990s ALG case, which cost eminent transplant surgeon John Najarian his tenure despite his exoneration by the courts. Quie passes on that; he and Najarian are friends. “I love John,” he says.

Popping off is simply not Quie’s style. “Kindness isn’t a word that’s used a lot in either politics or medicine,” he says. “I admire kind people . . . [and] I try to lead by example.”

In 1981, when physicians were needed in the refugee camps of Thailand for those fleeing the killing fields of Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, Quie responded. He spent five weeks among the 48,000 refugees, working with medical students and serving as a camp pediatrician, internist, and self-described “father figure.” He put in IVs. He performed spinal taps. He took X-rays. For that hiatus, he was no longer an academic investigator/professor; he was a regular doc again, albeit in primitive conditions.

“I had a lump in my throat for the first few days,” he says.

“That’s a symptom of anxiety. I get a lump still, thinking of it.”

Soon after, having become one of the early Minnesotans to join Physicians for Social Responsibility, he said in a lecture, “We as physicians must recognize the extreme danger of nuclear weapons as defense.” He called nuclear proliferation an “inter-

national malignancy.”

Says Quie, with the air of someone who wants to set the record straight: “I have stood up for some things along the way.”

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ow, in the twilight of his career, there is IMER, a vehicle for fostering Quie’s dedication to healing on an international scale. The program was established a dozen years ago by then–med school dean Al Michael, who recognized the growing need for global outreach and exchange. Quie and Peterson, both infectious disease specialists, were natural fits for a world awash in infections. Moreover, Quie was already an experienced globetrotter, having lectured on CGD from Japan to England, from Norway to Hong Kong. He’d also been selected by then–University president C. Peter Magrath to be part of the U’s first delegation to China, in 1981.

IMER was originally created to send Minnesota med students around the world (“That’s where the laboratory is,” as Peterson says), and about 50 of the 220 fourth-year students do go abroad, choosing among the 25 health facilities in 16 nations with which IMER has established working relationships. IMER also brings med students from other nations to study at the U. Just about every weekday, Quie can be found in his office, whose shelves are filled with medical volumes and the spiralbound notebooks that contain his personal journals and news clippings. On most days he’ll meet with a student who is preparing to spend months in Thailand or India or Sweden or South Korea.

He walks them through IMER’s various programs; he’s visited almost all of the IMER sites. For this work he is paid an annual salary of $5,000.

He still hits the lecture circuit too. He’s been invited to speak this summer on “The Role of Innate Immunity and Host Defense” at a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and “Staphylococcus: The Persistent Pathogen” at a University of Utah conference.

Even though 90 is just a few years away, all of his systems are pretty much go. Of course, Quie was into fitness before fitness was a big deal. Between the ages of 54 and 74, he ran 14 marathons, including those in Boston, London, Oslo, and the Twin Cities. “My midlife crisis,” he calls it. He notched his best time, 3:29, when he was 65. Now, 21 years later, he’s a habitual walker and a twice-aweek swimmer. Though he’s in admirable shape, he notes that sometimes the doctor has to the the patient. But, he says, “I’m a pretty good patient.”

He lost the sight in his right eye in 1991 to an embolism. Like his grandfather and father before him, he is showing early signs of macular degeneration in his left eye. “I would mourn not being able to read, [but] I’m living as if this won’t be a barrier,” he says. “If it wasn’t for modern medicine,” he adds wryly, “I’d be walking around with a white cane.”

There was prostate cancer in 1993. Fully recovered. Then, a few years back, he banged his leg on a table at his northern Minnesota

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cabin and contracted cellulitis, a potentially serious skin infection.

While being treated at a rural hospital he saw his chart. He was described by the admitting physician as “a pleasant 83-year-old gentleman.” He didn’t tell them who he was. You don’t get to be the least-famous icon at the U of M by making a fuss over yourself.

A final case in point: the med school’s annual Turtle Derby. It started in the early ’80s, during Quie’s tenure as University Hospitals chief of staff. Today it’s an important fund-raiser for the

Above: Paul Quie and Philip Peterson (right) are codirectors of the International Medical Education and Research program, which sends U medical students abroad and hosts medical students from other countries to study at the University of Minnesota. Opposite page: Quie continues to speak at conferences around the country as well as on campus, such as to this class of public health students. Below: At the end of the day, Quie rides the inter-campus shuttle back to the St. Paul campus.

University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital– Fairview, but back then it was done on a lark. Patients, visitors, and passersby could bet on which turtle would win a race around a chalk circle near the Mayo Building. But the race soon turned clinically contentious. Opponents argued that turtles carried salmonella, a germ that could be especially rough on children.

Quie, the infectious disease guru, thought shutting down the event was misguided. “My argument was, ‘This is a perfect teaching moment,’” he recalls. “‘It teaches us all to thoroughly wash our hands.’ ” “I like to say I saved the turtle race,” he says. “If anything gets named after me here at the University, it’s going to be that turtle race.”

A turtle race—not a building, a lab, or even a campus garden? “No,” says Paul Quie, walking the skyway to his office once again. “I’m not a big shot.”

■ Jay Weiner is a Twin Cities–based writer and the author of This Is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won the Minnesota Senate Recount.

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Bridge

Builder Under the direction of Laurie McGinnis, the U’s Center for Transportation Studies aims to become a resource for the world.

A

nyone who has traversed the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul via the Lake Street–Marshall Avenue Bridge knows the work of Laurie McGinnis. McGinnis (M.B.A. ’85, M.P.A. ’06), a civil engineer who was named director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) last July, designed the graceful arch bridge in 1988 when she was with HNTB, an engineering consulting firm.

McGinnis is a bridge builder figuratively too. As director of CTS, an internationally respected research institute, she helps forge connections between faculty from more than 30 U departments (who produce cutting-edge work on everything from traffic engineering to driver behavior) as well as between CTS, transportation professionals, and policymakers who look to the center to advance knowledge when, so to speak, the rubber meets the road.

“Ultimately, this knowledge improves transportation decision making, meaning better and safer transportation systems, smarter investments, and a higher quality of life for Minnesota and the nation,” McGinnis says.

Some recent examples of CTS research include: Bus 2.0. As part of a $133.3 million federally funded project to improve freeway traffic flow, CTS’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute (ITS) developed the Bus 2.0 driver-assistive system. It is currently being tested on 10 buses with routes along Cedar Avenue and Interstate 35W between Minneapolis and the southern suburbs. Those buses run on the freeway shoulders to avoid jammed-up

traffic, which puts them in danger both of scraping against traffic on the inside lane and of crossing into the paths of vehicles on exit and entrance ramps. Bus 2.0 deploys sensors and software technology that scout the portions of the road in the driver’s blind spot. If the driver gets too close to the inside lane where the traffic might be, he or she gets sensory feedback in the form of a vibrating seat.

Teen Driver Support System. Researchers at the center’s ITS are preparing to launch an expanded pilot project that would give teen drivers electronic feedback to help

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Laurie McGinnis on the Lake Street–Marshall Avenue Bridge, which she designed in 1988.

compensate for their lack of experience. It would also share their mistakes electronically with parents.

A “value capture” project. Requested by the Minnesota State Legislature, the project sought to determine the monetary value of benefits to the private sector from transportation improvements in order to capture additional revenue from those benefits—for example, when a developer asks that a road be built past its new office complex.

McGinnis sat down with Minnesota to talk about the work of CTS and the intersection of transportation research with such

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disparate issues as climate change, driver behavior, and land use planning.

Q: I’ll start with what for me is the most pressing and important question: Are roundabouts really effective or just needlessly annoying?

A: CTS is more about research and education than about the

design and operation of transportation systems. Having said that, my perception is that roundabouts are annoying to some people. But it’s a driver education issue—so that does relate

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to a lot of what we do here, which is to educate people about new aspects of transportation that they haven’t been exposed to in the past.

Q: Much of the center’s research focuses on quality of life. How does transportation affect quality of life?

A: Quality of life can mean a num-

I as an individual can get where I want to in an amount of time that is reasonable to me. It doesn’t mean my trip won’t be congested, or that it won’t be annoying—kind of like the roundabouts question. But it’s more important to people that they can get where they want to go in an expected amount of time.

ber of things. One is the importance of land use [such as where to build Q: Is bus rapid transit (BRT) a genushopping malls, whether to dedicate inely viable alternative to rail-based hiking or biking trails, or whether mass transit or just a more politically expedient alternative? highways should expand]. How are A: Bus rapid transit generally is utithose decisions made, and how are they improving access to the places lized by commuters who need to people want to go? From convenience travel a greater distance than those stores to work, there are so many using standard local buses. It can destinations that an individual will save them time and money. It is a have. So how land use decisions are viable alternative because it is more made and how those destinations flexible than rail. Part of the reason get oriented is an important part of society moved away from a fixed-rail quality of life. system 50 years ago to a wheel-based It used to be that practitioners system is because wheels are more and researchers only looked at conflexible. If there is a need to move “Downtown Minneapolis gestion, which is how many cars your route two blocks over, it is easy are packed in, how much traffic to do that. Part of it is cost. BRT is is an example of a collection you have on a particular roadway, viable because it is so much more of destinations. People can and your travel time. But the coneconomical to introduce. get on a bus or in their car and have, versation is changing to accessibilA complete transit network will in close proximity, a lot of places ity—that is, how many destinations include a flexible over-the-road to get to. It doesn’t matter so much can you reach in a given amount wheel system, light rail, commuter that downtown is always congested. rail, and BRT. of time? People are beginning to understand that this is more imporIt’s more about how I as an individual tant than how many cars are on the Q: Talk about how your areas of invescan get where I want to road with them. The important tigation cross over into climate sciin an amount of time consideration is how many places ence. that is reasonable to me.” do I need to go that can be reached A: A fairly significant portion of in a certain amount of time by walkgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ing, by bicycle, by transit, or by automobile. In terms of mass come from the transportation sector. It’s generally accepted that transit, it’s most effective and economical when people can use the percentage of carbon from transportation varies from around it to reach multiple destinations.

25 to 30 percent, depending on location. The other major contribuAccessibility is improving in this metro area. While congestor is the electricity sector at approximately 34 percent. tion has been worsening, the ease of reaching destinations has Many areas of CTS research are related to making transporbeen getting better almost everywhere in this region, especially tation greener, including congestion reduction, traffic signal by automobile. But it’s also improving by walking, biking, and timing, land use planning, and alternative fuels. public transit.

places, and ease is about having many places to access and mode options to access them.

Downtown Minneapolis is an example of a collection of destinations. People can get on a bus or in their car and have, in close proximity, a lot of places to get to. It doesn’t matter so much that downtown is always congested. It’s more about how

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Q: What research has CTS undertaken regarding global warming?

A: In 2007 the state legislature asked us to look at GHG emissions

from the transportation sector in Minnesota and give them some guidance on what could be done to meet reduction goals for the state. We looked at three major contributors: the type of fuels being used, the fuel economy of vehicles, and the third loops right back to our previous conversation about land use.

Biofuels still look promising. Kernels of corn can produce ethanol—that’s a very easy way to create a biofuel. But research is finding that a more green way to do it is using a cellulosic mate-

PHOTOGRAP H BY MARK LU IN ENBURG

Q: Isn’t it a paradox that there is more congestion but it’s easier to get to places?

A: That goes back to what accessibility is. It’s the ease of getting to

rial, like corn stalks or prairie grass. There also is research looking at the next generation of fuels. Researchers on campus are studying the performance and emissions of demethyl ether, a fuel produced from biomass by gasification. The potential for fuel production by gasification of Minnesota biomass is very large.

For the second contributor, vehicle mileage, researchers looked at scenarios using various fuel-economy standards.

Electric vehicles would significantly improve mileage and reduce emissions, but the source of the electricity is key. They are not burning a fuel that is going to generate greenhouse gases, but they are, of course, drawing electricity when the car is plugged in to charge the battery.

The study also looked at the miles we put on the odometer. Changes in land use and more transit options could reduce the need to drive so far so often. This ties back to the research I mentioned above about increasing accessibility to destinations.

Q: Since electricity generation is a greater source of greenhouse emissions, do electric cars actually add to the problem rather than help reduce it?

A: Generally, researchers believe that using

electric cars has less impact, even though they are drawing power off the grid. Their carbon footprint depends on how the electricity is generated—by coal, wind, or solar, for example.

Q: CTS also studies the psychology of transportation. What surprising things has it discovered about the psychological aspects of moving people around?

A: On the behavior side, I’m no longer sur-

prised by anything, maybe because I’ve been exposed to data that shows so many different types of behaviors. But on the policy side, I can say I was surprised by research that we brought out last summer.

Last spring, the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety [a joint program between CTS and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs] conducted a national Rural Road Safety Public Opinion Survey. (Go to www.ruralsafety.umn.edu and click on “publications.”)

It surveyed people’s attitudes about rural driving and sought their opinions on certain public policies effective in reducing rural fatalities. These include primary

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“Electric vehicles would significantly improve mileage and reduce emissions, but the source of the electricity is key.

They are not burning a fuel that is going to generate greenhouse gases, but they are, of course, drawing electricity when the car is plugged in to charge the battery.” seat belt laws [which allow an officer to ticket a driver for not wearing a seat belt, even when no other traffic offense has occurred], sobriety checkpoints, motorcycle helmets, graduated drivers licenses [a provisional license stage for young drivers]— that’s kind of a hot one right now—automated speed enforcement, that is, cameras that catch people speeding or running red lights, and Breathalyzerbased ignition locks. These are various policy-related strategies that are known to improve safety.

There was an assumption going into the survey that the public did not support these measures, and legislators were acting on the belief that there wasn’t support.

But what is surprising is that the survey called that into question. There was more support and less resistance than expected.

Consequently, it may be less difficult for legislators to pass these measures because their constituents are saying they think they are appropriate types of strategies.

Q: Understanding that you study hundreds of topic areas, what is the biggest single thing that you hope to accomplish at CTS? A: I want policy makers and practitioners

from around the world to see our center as a resource for helping them make decisions.

That is my mission. I am not a one-specifictopic type of person. I am a generalist, and my goal is to bring new knowledge to bear for practitioners and policy makers who will see that it gets put into practice. I want CTS to be a resource to the world.

■ Kevin Featherly is a writer and consultant who lives in Bloomington, Minnesota.

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H

is mother calls him Dr. Shit, but she means no disrespect. Indeed, her son, University of Minnesota associate professor of civil engineering Tim LaPara, is making a name for himself as an expert on sewage in wastewater treatment facilities—something most of us take for granted, or prefer not to think about at all. ¶ An environmental engineer and microbiologist, LaPara studies the bacteria—and bacteria resistant to antibiotics—that live in sewage. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop in the gastrointestinal tracts of people who are taking infection-fighting medications: antibiotics. When people defecate, the bacteria are passed along into the sewage system and processed at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Interestingly, most treatment facilities decompose solid waste in “digesters” that operate at temperatures close to the normal body temperature of humans.

For a recent study, LaPara collected biosolids, more commonly known as sludge, from a sewage treatment plant. The sludge, as LaPara expected, contained genetic evidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When LaPara heated the sludge to 131 degrees Fahrenheit in an anaerobic digester, most of the bacteria died, including up to 99.9 percent of the genes that confer drug resistance in bacteria.

“I was reasonably sure we’d see [antibiotic] resistance genes go away,” says LaPara. “In some ways, this is the most boring, most mundane research study I’ve ever done.

I would have been completely shocked out of my brain if they hadn’t gone away.”

The study’s results were published in Environmental Science & Technology, a journal of the American Chemical Society, in November and were relayed by numerous other scientific media outlets around the globe. But those findings tell only part of the story.

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In the United States alone, drug-resistant infections kill 90,000 people a year—three times the number who die in car wrecks.

LaPara’s research proposes new ways to address the vexing health problem of antibiotic resistance.

Underpinning LaPara’s research, obvious though it might be, is an intriguing and rather frightening hypothesis: By gathering bacteria, including human pathogens, together in sewage treatment plants, we have unwittingly created ideal incubators for creating antibiotic-resistant pathogens and spreading them throughout the environment.

“This is an emerging theory,” says LaPara. “Most folks think the problem of antibiotic resistance is something that exists in hospitals”—specifically, that bacteria that survive antibiotic treatments multiply in environments such as hospitals and nursing homes and infect new patients in these settings.

But recent research suggests that wastewater treatment plants and agricultural uses of manure might provide breeding grounds for so-called superbugs, bacteria resistant to treatment with any number of antibiotics. Says LaPara, “That’s where what I and some other researchers are starting to do is an entirely different paradigm.”

And this new paradigm is gaining attention. A recent report from the American Academy of Microbiology calls sludge from sewage treatment “a hotbed for the development of antibiotic resistance. When dewatered sludge is applied as fertilizer to agricultural land there is a risk of introducing both antibiotics and resistant strains into the food supply.”

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University environmental engineer Tim LaPara collects water samples from the Mississippi River southeast of campus.

Opposite page: MagniďŹ ed 3,400 times, Prevotella intermedia rod bacteria often become resistant to antibiotics and can cause respiratory infections, bone loss, and other diseases.

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Antibiotics are used to heal bacterial infections that range from wounds to Lyme disease to tuberculosis. Since they were discovered in the mid-20th century, antibiotics have saved millions of lives and added seven years to the average human lifespan.

Antibiotics are also used to treat domestic animals—often preventatively, to keep farm animals from getting sick. Antibiotics promote faster growth in animals—a use banned in Europe since 2005 to combat antibiotic resistance. In aquaculture, antibiotics are liberally added to water to prevent infections in fish.

But the very use of antibiotics “selects for”—promotes the growth of—the bacteria that are resistant to them. As a result, the incidence of antibiotic-resistant infections is rising, according to the American Academy of Microbiology, and doctors lack new antibiotics to treat those infections.

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that was once nearly eradicated in the United States and should be under control around the world. But every year, nearly a half million new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis occur, mostly in developing countries.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly a third of the world’s population is infected. (Of that number, 5 percent to 10 percent become sick or infectious at some time during their life.

Otherwise healthy people often experience no symptoms.)

Scientists are alarmed by the spread of virulent superbugs resistant to any number of common antibiotics: methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (known as MRSA); the newly discovered mutation NDM-1 from India, which renders several bacteria resistant to nearly all antibiotics; and C. diff, which causes ravaging diarrhea despite the strongest antibiotics.

“Antibiotic resistance is never going to go away. No matter how many drugs we throw at it, . . . it will always prevail,” says the American Academy of Microbiology report. “The strength of trillions upon trillions of microorganisms, combined with the ancient force of evolution by constant, unrelenting variation, will inevitably overpower our drugs.”

But that doesn’t mean we don’t try. Antibiotics are too valuable to abandon.

Traditionally, doctors have cautioned against indiscriminate use of the drugs. “The first rule of antibiotics is try not to use them,” writes Paul L. Marino, a medical doctor and an authority on critical care patient management, in The ICU Book, “and the second rule is try not to use too many of them.” But the perception that resistance is the consequence of antibiotic abuse and misuse alone is “simplistic and inaccurate,” according to the American Academy of Microbiology.

“It’s important to bring a fresh perspective and think about other routes by which we might be spreading resistance,” says Amy Pruden, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech. “Wastewater treatment plants have really come to light as an important node in potentially spreading resistance—but in an optimistic sense, also controlling the spread of antibiotic resistance. It gives you something to target, and that is where I think Dr. LaPara’s research is really encouraging and looks at something practical that can be done.”

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LaPara first became acquainted with wastewater as an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame. “At a very liberal moment I

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decided to save the environment,” he says. “I became an environmental engineer without even knowing what it was.” The next summer he worked as an intern for an engineering firm hired to fix a wastewater treatment bioreactor. “I thought it was fascinating,” he says—and he’s been studying wastewater ever since.

“I’m the weird civil engineering microbiologist,” he says, noting that perhaps only a dozen or two other researchers in the United States have combined these two disciplines. As a result, “I tend to think of things in ways that are different from most people.” His intersecting professional interests led to the study of microbes in wastewater treatment plants.

One fine example is the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant, which sits beside the Mississippi River, just downstream from St. Paul. The 10th largest plant of its kind in the nation, it treats sewage from three-fourths of the Twin Cities metro area, 175 million gallons a day. Some of its low brick buildings, adorned by graceful art deco lettering, date to the plant’s origin in 1938.

The 170-acre grounds is a warren of basins, tanks, stacks, and pipes. Incoming sewage is screened for trash and chunks and run through settling ponds to remove solids. In aeration ponds, carefully managed populations of microbes break down organics. After more settling to remove dead microbes, wastewater is treated with liquid chlorine and discharged to the river.

The plant extracts 220 tons of sludge (dry weight) a day, enough to fill 10 boxcars. Most is incinerated at 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, which almost surely destroys all living organisms. But some is trucked to nearby fields as fertilizer—not for crops grown for human consumption, but most commonly for crops fed to livestock.

Treatment plants like St. Paul’s were designed to protect water quality by harnessing the same natural processes that would occur more slowly out in the Mississippi. And the plant has done a good job. The river, once fetid and starved of oxygen from the breakdown of raw sewage, now is clean enough to support native mussels, aquatic insects, and, says LaPara—as much out of personal as professional interest—“a terrific walleye fishery.”

But, he says, “wastewater treatment plants are great and awful at the same time.” Because they operate at nearly the same temperature as the human body, they breed most every human bacterium—beneficial and harmful, including many that are already drug-resistant, gathering everything that comes, literally, down the pipe.

“We get all the microbes together in a way that’s almost unnatural,” LaPara explains. “I’m taking an antibiotic. You’re taking an antibiotic. You’re going to select for critters resistant to your antibiotic.

I’m going to collect critters resistant to my antibiotic, and then we’re going to mix them together and let them have sex. I like to think of it as a bar. Everybody’s drunk and they’re trying to mate.”

It would be enough if bacteria had sex like higher creatures. But bacteria have the ability to trade genetic material willy-nilly—even between completely different species—through a process known as horizontal, or lateral, gene transfer. There are several mechanisms: They may trade genes through a hair-like conduit called a pilus. Or a virus may infect one bacteria and carry genes with it as it infects another. Or some bacteria, such as Acinetobacter species, have a knack of picking up the “genetic candy” of any burst microbial piñata.

The “unintended consequence of getting all the little patrons of the bar together,” says LaPara, is “actually creating a hotbed for

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And then these organisms are dispatched into the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; down a river or onto a farm ďŹ eld.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the theory. The results of ďŹ eld studies have been mixed.

Research in Denmark and Chicago indicates that not only had treatment of wastewater solids reduced the numbers of bacteria up to a thousandfold, but the surviving bacteria were no more likely to be resistant to antibiotics than the microbes in raw sewage.

Other studies tell a different story. Researchers in China, Spain, and Austria all reported ďŹ nding higher concentrations of drug resistance among bacteria in sewage plant efďŹ&#x201A;uent and immediately downstream of the plants.

A group of University of Michigan researchers sampled for Acinetobacter, the bacteria so adept at snatching up genetic candy, in a wastewater treatment plant dumping into the Huron River.

According to their ďŹ ndings, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance increased at each stage of the treatment process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These results suggest that wastewater treatment process contributes to the selective increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the occurrence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in aquatic environments,â&#x20AC;? wrote the scientists. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The discharge of wastewater efďŹ&#x201A;uent may contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the aquatic environment.â&#x20AC;?

While sewage treatment provides a reservoir for resistant microbes, does it also breed even new forms of resistant bacteria, impervious to a greater arsenal of antibiotics than ever before? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those high concentrations of bacteria also put them in proximity with each other so they can share DNA,â&#x20AC;? says Pruden. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, yes, deďŹ nitely thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reason to believe it could be a breeding ground for superbugs.â&#x20AC;?

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Just such concerns inspired LaParaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research. He had been looking into the possibility of superbugs in the watery efďŹ&#x201A;uent discharged from plants. But at a conference at the University of Texas, a colleague suggested he was looking at the wrong stuff; he should instead examine sludge, where most of the bacteria remained.

LaPara ran sludge through laboratory-scale digesters, both with oxygen and without. Anaerobic digestion is generally cheaper and better than aerobic digestion but more complex and subject to performance ďŹ&#x201A;uctuations, LaPara explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some plants perform aerobic digestion because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relatively easy and uncomplicated,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These would be smaller plants without a lot of sludge to digest and probably few people around to operate them.â&#x20AC;?

In his study, LaPara tested the sludge at four points, between

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72 (about room temperature) and 131 degrees Fahrenheit, and tracked the abundance of genes for resistance to several antibiotics, as well as for a kind of integrase, an enzyme that allows bacteria to integrate genes for resistance into their own cellular structure.

Under conditions without oxygen, evidence of antibiotic resistance disappeared, as noted earlier and as LaPara expected.

But under conditions with oxygen, when biosolids were heated to up to 131 degrees, the antibiotic resistance not only didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t vanish, in some cases it actually increased. That was the real surprise, says LaPara. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to think I screwed upâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that somethingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong with what I did and that if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing it at high temperatures with oxygen present, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still going away. But my data shows otherwise.â&#x20AC;?

More research is needed on both the engineering and theoretical fronts. The National Science Foundation has awarded LaPara $400,000 to continue his investigations for the next three years.

LaPara will use the grant to explore various technologies to treat sludge to reduce the presence of antibiotic-resistant organisms, such as pasteurization at 158 degrees, and treatment with lime.

He will examine how treatment affects the transfer of antibiotic resistance to soil organisms once sludge is applied to ďŹ elds. He plans to test two hypotheses: first, that wastewater treatment plants can be designed to eliminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and second, that gene transfer among sewage microbes does in fact create an important new source of drug resistance.

That second matter is on the minds of a lot of microbiologists these days because of its potential impact on human health and the future of antibiotics. Scientists want to develop a coherent understanding of how antibiotic resistance in soil or stream water might reinfect humans. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know really, really well how antibiotic resistance develops in an individual cell,â&#x20AC;? LaPara says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Or even how it transfers to another cell. We can study that like crazy. But we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know much at all about the big picture, which is how all this stuff gets spread around. In my mind that is a million-dollar question.â&#x20AC;?

In the meantime, LaParaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s study yielded other promising results. His findings suggest a way that wastewater treatment plants might kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Waste treatment produces a surplus of methane gas, LaPara explains, and that can be used to heat the sludge. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The cost wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be very much,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It really does work.

You fart; thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s methane. And that is actually used as a fuel source to heat the reactor. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than enough to heat it up.â&#x20AC;? â&#x2013; Greg Breining (B.A. â&#x20AC;&#x2122;74) is a St. Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;based freelance writer.

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Sixty-seven male faculty members of the University of Minnesota became the founding members of the Campus Club, located in Northrop House on Church Street.

In 1925, the Board of Regents voted to raze the Campus Club house. At the same time, an addition was made to Nicholson Hall, then home to the men’s student union, and the Campus Club was given space there for the next 15 years.

For $25,000, the Campus Club was given the top three floors of Coffman Memorial Union when it opened in 1940.

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ack in September 1911, a brief notice appeared in the Minnesota Alumni Weekly announcing the opening of a “campus club” at the University of Minnesota. Noting that faculty had been “agitating” for just such an organization on campus for several years, the Weekly reported that, through the course of the spring and summer, articles of incorporation for a club had been drafted and a home had been found. A campus fraternity house, known as Northrop House, on Church Street was leased from the Board of Regents and $1,600 worth of furnishings and repair was collected to gussy it up. Renovations complete, the two-story house with its Tudor-frame design was deemed fit for faculty members to occupy, and on September 25 the doors opened for the first meeting of the Campus Club.

The establishment’s original bylaws were as basic as a meatloaf special. They stated that the organization’s general purpose should be “the advancement of the interests of the University of Minnesota; the social enjoyment of its members; [and] the acquirement, by purchase, lease or gift of such property, real and personal, as may be desirable for the furtherance of said interests.” Membership was limited to male faculty and a board of directors was formed to manage the club and collect fees.

A hundred years after its grand opening, the Campus Club remains a thriving concern at the University of Minnesota. It has long since left that old frat house and is housed, as most of the University community knows, on the fourth floor of Coffman Memorial Union. It now accepts for membership both genders and anyone involved in the University community. The club has moved twice and undergone several renovations in its long history. It has also experienced a number of peaks and valleys in terms of membership and finances. Still, the club’s basic premise—advancing the interests of the University and bringing social enjoyment to its members—remains the essence of its being.

The University of Minnesota Campus Club was born in an era of expansion at the U. The intimate college of the 19th century was fast becoming history by the time of its creation, and the growing size of the campus—as well as the increased numbers of faculty, students, and educational departments—tended to isolate professors one from another. As at other universities across the country, a group of faculty members decided that a gathering place where members could dine, share thoughts and opinions, and simply meet for a game of cards or billiards was in order, and so the Campus Club was born.

Sixty-seven faculty members became charter patrons of the club and congregated at the house on Church Street. The place had seven bedrooms, which were all soon occupied by visiting faculty or bachelor professors. Clanging radiators, passing trains, and the chatter of members drifting in and out of the parlor made the house less a place

Frederic Butters, a professor of botany at the University, made a loan to the Campus Club to keep it solvent during World War I. He was repaid in meals. He is pictured here in 1938 on Prospect Mountain in Estes Park, Colorado.

of thoughtful deliberation than a guys’ club.

Still, rules in place at the time prohibited drinking alcohol on campus, and talk of a ban on smoking as well prompted some faculty members to organize a pair of dining clubs as an outlet for more raucous entertainment.

One of these was known as the Aristocrats; the other was dubbed the Bourgeoisie (their names, down through the years, would be shortened to the “A” club and the “B” club). They held their revelries off campus, usually at colorful establishments in downtown Minneapolis like McCormick’s, which was attached to the old Nicollet Hotel. On the night of the Aristocrats’ first gathering there, Oscar Firkins, chair of the English Department, was so appalled when one of the McCormick’s club dancers tried to kiss him on top of the head that he handed the club secretary a silver dollar, turned on his heel, and marched out of the establishment.

Other faculty members were less inclined to blush.

Evenings at the Campus Club itself were more sedate. Unfortunately, competition from faculty associations, along with the advent of World War I, put a crimp in club membership—and a $1,000 tax assessed on the establishment during the war almost sunk the Campus Club before it could sail. Members found a benefactor in one of the club’s founders, however. Professor Frederic Butters, who served on the botany faculty from 1901 until his death in 1945, made a loan to keep the organization afloat. He took his payback in meals—three years’ worth, according to a brief history of the club that Butters himself authored in 1940.

The original Campus Club sat on prime University real estate, just south of the administration building, and in 1925 the regents voted to raze the house for campus expansion. Faced with eviction, Campus Club members began a campaign to raise money for a new building and printed a brochure with the alluring title “Shall Professors Foregather?” An offer from the Board of Regents, however, obviated the need for a separate structure.

An addition on the east side of Nicholson Hall, which was then serving as the men’s student union, was offered to the Campus Club. The only hitch was that the club would have to move in 10

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Members and guests moved through the Campus Club cafeteria line on the fourth floor of Coffman Union in 1970.

years, when an anticipated increase in student enrollment would require a larger student union.

Anticipating this eventuality, the club’s Board of Directors levied an assessment on members, set aside a portion of dues, and marked up fees on meals. Within a decade, the club raised $30,000. The move out of Nicholson was postponed five more years, however, until 1940.

In the meantime, members settled—or squeezed—into their quarters in Nicholson. Aside from the lack of space, the new facility had “a complete and perfect lack of ventilation,” according to a chronicler in the campus newsletter Minnesota Chats. “Goodness knows what the people who planned the old Minnesota Union thought it was that humans breathed,” the scribe reported, “certainly not air.” The old proscriptions against smoking were long gone. Consequently, “You could bump your head upon the air in the [billiard] room. Most tragic of all, if anyone ventured to open a window, in winter that is, some sharp-eyed influenza addict would spot the very thought aborning and slam the sash down almost before the first pure inward draft had swung the blue tobacco smoke of the interior into a long, concave curl.

Fresh air was doomed to remain outside, where, presumably, it would remain fresh.”

There were also complaints about the cuisine. At the first Campus Club, the organization ran its own kitchen; at Nicholson Hall, for economic reasons, members took their food from the student union cafeteria. Butters labeled the new eating arrange-

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produce synthetic rubber at a time when rubber shortages were seriously hampering the war effort. A revered teacher and unforgettable character, Kolthoff was a fixture at the Campus Club even after his apartment was converted to meeting space. He kept an office in the fifth-floor library, which aside from being littered with his papers was said always to be well stocked with candy bars and butter rum Dale Shephard, a wrestling and boxing champion at the Lifesavers.

University, was manager of the Campus Club from 1936 Dale Shephard was anothuntil his death in 1972. He is pictured here in 1949. er Campus Club institution. A former University wrestling and boxing champion, Shephard was hired to manage the club ment “gastronomiIzaak Kolthoff, professor of analytical in 1936, when it was still located at Nicholson. Affectionately cally sad.” chemistry at the University (pictured called “Shep” by members, he stayed in that position, overseeing By contrast, the in 1950), lived in a room at the Campus Club in Nicholson Hall dining services, bookkeeping, room rentals, and special events, new digs at Coffman beginning in 1927, when he arrived until his death in 1972. A meeting room on the club’s west side Memorial Union, at the U, and in Coffman Union into now bears his name. w h e n o p e n e d i n the 1960s, when the apartments were converted into meeting rooms.

Club membership swelled in the postwar years, as did student 1940, seemed posienrollment, creating demand on limited space in the union. In tively sumptuous.

1956, the Campus Club expanded its dining facilities by adding Constructed for rooms on top of the east and west wings and remodeled the about $2 million, with 45 percent of the cost coming from a terrace to allow more dining space. But pressure was building federal grant provided by the Work Projects Administration and for the Campus Club to share its floors and be more inclusive of matching funds raised through donations and student fees, the women and non-faculty staff. Along with eliminating the apartnew student union was built with the understanding that the ments from the sixth floor in the mid-1960s, the Club leased the top three floors would belong to the Campus Club—provided fifth floor card room to the Women’s Faculty Club and, in Januthe club delivered $25,000 to the Board of Regents. It did, and ary 1970, gave up its dining room to the first-ever women’s-only the Campus Club soon moved into what The Minnesota Daily party at the Campus Club. called “a castle in the air.”

The University was changing in many ways by the early While membership in the Campus Club was reserved for 1970s, and the Campus Club began to change with it—not necmen, the University, at the prodding of the Women’s Faculty essarily for the better. Membership at the club was aging while Club, required that a portion of the space at Coffman be open to the faculty was expanding and getting younger. The University women. As a result, the dining room on the fourth floor allowed itself was growing once again and stretching across the Missisboth sexes, though their tables were separated by a row of planter sippi, which affected the collegiality of the Campus Club. In a boxes. A lounge on that same floor was likewise segregated. The 1995 interview with U of M historian Ann Pflaum (Ph.D. ’75), men’s side, outfitted in blue art deco furniture, was separated longtime geography professor Eugene Cotton Mather recalled from the women’s lounge, which was oatmeal-colored. how, when he first arrived on campus in the late 1950s, everyone Women were banned from the rosewood-paneled fifth floor, from his department “went over [to the Campus Club] every day. except for his-and-her “quiet rooms” for reading and study. The We mixed with people from all departments. It was one of the rest of the floor included bridge and billiards rooms and a men’s beautiful things about the University of Minnesota.” When the library, overlooking the river and decorated in deep maroon with department moved across the river to the West Bank, he and his a Chinese motif. colleagues quit making the trek.

The sixth floor was given over to apartments for 13 members The facility began to show its age. The carpet was frayed. A of the club. Among these was Professor Izaak Kolthoff, who widely reported health inspection turned up mouse droppings also had a room in Nicholson Hall. In fact, Kolthoff’s stay in in the kitchen. Membership dropped, and a subsequent lack of Campus Club housing would stretch from his arrival at the U in revenue prompted what many considered a certain stinginess in 1927 all the way into the 1960s, when the Coffman apartments the club. One rumor had it that a lock was placed on the kitchen were converted into meeting rooms (Kolthoff continued to live freezer to prevent Professor Kolthoff from pilfering the occain University housing until his death at the age of 99 in 1993). sional late night scoop of ice cream.

A lifelong bachelor, Kolthoff was one of the most highly A restoration was in order, and it came, beginning in Novemesteemed and honored analytical chemists in the world. During ber 1999, when the Campus Club shut down for an extensive World War II, he headed a research team that devised a way to

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Top: The rosewood-paneled fireplace lounge on Coffman Union’s fifth floor was for men only.

Bottom: A lounge for women faculty was separate from a men’s lounge, both on the fourth floor of Coffman Memorial Union.

Right: Newlyweds Don and Allie (B.S. ’42) Skoro enjoy the Campus Club terrace in 1949.

NE WLYWEDS P HOTOGRAP H COURTE SY OF MARTY S KORO

remodeling of the entire student union. (The Alumni Association, which had rented space from the Campus Club on the fifth floor for seven years, moved to the McNamara Alumni Center at the same time.) The club reopened in January 2003 in a completely renovated space, including a new room, the Bar, on the south side of the building facing the Mississippi River. A large dining room on the west side of the club features a spectacular view of the Minneapolis skyline. And the expanded terrace not only provides outdoor seating and a stunning view of Northrop Mall, it has restored some of the art deco beauty of Coffman Union.

Today, the Campus Club has more than 1,500 members, and membership is open to staff, students, regents, alumni, parents, and donors, in addition to faculty. An emphasis on special events and party facilities has provided new streams of revenue, the large tables in the dining room once again facilitate inter- and intra-departmental chitchat, and the popular bar holds one of

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the most unique liquor licenses in the state. A statute written especially for it sits near the cash register; it helps explain how the property can hold one of the rare liquor licenses to be granted on University property: “No license to sell intoxicating liquor may be issued at any place on the East Side of the Mississippi River within one tenth of a mile of the main building of the University of Minnesota unless the establishment is on the property owned and operated by a nonprofit corporation organized prior to 1940.”

Cocktail hours and beer-, wine-, and food-tasting gatherings have been popular events in the restored Campus Club. One of the planks in the original list of bylaws—the social enjoyment of members—is easy to see at work here. Members must still travel across the river to the heart of the wicked city, however, if they hope to collect kisses from local dancers.

■ Tim Brady is a St. Paul–based freelance writer and regular contributor to Minnesota. A number of events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Campus Club are planned throughout 2011, including a Centennial Tea & Historical Fashion Show with the University Women’s Club March 15. Go to www.campusclubumn.org for more information.

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Gopher Sports

Throwing Herself into the Job

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DAN M ARSH ALL

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ynne Anderson exaggerates when she quips that she’s been at her job coaching Gopher track and field since the Dark Ages. Yet there’s a grain of truth to the claim. At 30 years and counting, Anderson, coach of the women’s throw team, is the longest-tenured coach among the 74 men and women who lead Gopher sports teams. “I was doing this when no one came to watch, not even parents, because they thought their girls were just exercising,” she says.

Anderson (née Winbigler), a 57-year-old former Olympic discus thrower, is still a legend in her native Oregon. With her win in the 1976 Olympic trials, she became that state’s first female Olympian, and for four years she reigned as the top female discus thrower in the nation. (She qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott.)

Her alma mater established the Lynne Winbigler Performer of the Year Award that honors the best performance on a national or international level by an Oregon athlete.

When she was hired in 1981 to coach Gopher women throwLynne Anderson coaches Nikki Tzanakis ers, Minnesota put Anderson’s prodigious athletic prowess to “It was very unusual at the time for women to coach men good use. She created strength and conditioning programs for and also do the recruiting, but I didn’t think anything of it,” women’s swimming, gymnastics, golf, basketball, and volleyball Anderson says. programs at the request of coaches in those sports. And when The throwing events—discus, shot put, hammer, weight the coach of the men’s team found that his job no longer allowed throw, and javelin—have long been a strong suit of Minnesota him the time to coach his throwers, Anderson offered to step in. track and field. Anderson has coached 10 women to 21 All-AmerShe coached both the men’s and women’s throw teams for 12 ica honors and 14 women to 35 Big Ten crowns. Her men’s teams years, until 1999.

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Surgery Ends Kangas’s Career Senior goaltender and co-captain Alex Kangas was forced to end his Gopher hockey career in midJanuary to undergo hip surgery and four months of rehabilitation.

Kangas’s .912 career save percentage is a school record, and his 2.56 goals-against average is fourth-best in Gopher history. His 6,359 career minutes rank third in program history.

Kangas injured his hip in February 2010, and over time pain intensified despite numerous attempts to treat it nonsurgically.

A sad-eyed Kangas described the premature end to his college career as “brutal. Being a senior, you do not want to go out like this.”

Jessica Abel, Girls’ Comics #1—Redux (detail), India ink on paper (with digital color), 10” x 12.”

Alex Kangas

Split Rock Arts Program

K AN GAS P HOTOGRAP H BY ERIC MILLE R

won seven Big Ten titles—the 1997 discus team claimed the top four spots at the conference meet—and six All-America honors.

“Learning to throw is an evolution, a process. Because what you’re asking these athletes to do is unnatural,” Anderson says.

The hammer throw, for example, requires an athlete to create and then exploit power while moving backward. “The art of coaching is to know people’s skill levels and be able to enhance them within that person’s own abilities and stresses. You do all kinds of things to help a body change and adapt.”

Many of Anderson’s most accomplished athletes began as walk-ons, unrecruited students who showed up in her office and announced they wanted to try out for the team. Senior discus thrower Nikki Tzanakis (B.S. ’10) is one such student athlete. “I took one look at Nikki and said, ‘You’re too small,’ ” Anderson says. “Plus, she could only throw 119 feet, 16 feet below my minimum requirement for walk-ons.”

But Tzanakis, then 5-feet 7-inches tall and 145 pounds, persisted. “Lynne told me, ‘If you join this program, you will gain weight.’ A lot of the girls don’t like that, but I said OK.” She enters her senior season 50 pounds heavier and stronger, with a career best throw of 166 feet, 8 inches. Last spring she completed a degree in biochemistry and earned a trip to the NCAA championships.

“Each of us has a different kind of brain, and Lynne knows how to get inside each one,” Tzanakis says. “Her brain is a movie projector. She’ll watch you, close her eyes, replay your throw, and tell you, ‘Oops, your leg is too high.’ ” Tzanakis recalls that one such replay during her sophomore year prompted a change in her approach that immediately added 20 feet to her throw.

Anderson is married to Colin Anderson, a former Gopher assistant men’s track and field coach and an Olympian in 1980. Their 17-year-old son, Thomas, is—not surprisingly—a throw athlete.

Anderson aspires to work in a coffee shop when and if she exits the throwing circle, but even after 30 years, the sport is still fresh to her. “Not one year in 30 years has been the same. It changes because the kids change. When you grow along with the kids, it stays new.”

—Cynthia Scott

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All rights reserved.

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Gopher Sports Gophers Look Ahead with Kill

Baseball Schedule Metro-doomed The air went out of the baseball Gophers’ early season schedule when the roof of the Metrodome, the team’s home field, collapsed under the weight of an 18-inch snowfall in December. Replacement of the shredded roof is expected to be completed by August 1. The Gophers’ home games in February and March were moved to the away sites; home games in April and May will be played at the Dome.

The Gophers adopted the Metrodome as their temporary home field while their on-campus facility, Siebert Field, is renovated. The Siebert Field Legacy Campaign seeks to raise $7.5 million toward that end.

Chaired by former Gopher great and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, the campaign began last spring with a gift of $2 million from the Pohlad family, owner of the Minnesota Twins. To learn more about the campaign and for updates to the Gophers’ schedule, go to www.gophersports.com.

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cancer that was diagnosed and treated in 2005—is known as a relentless teacher and coach. One of the feathers in his NIU cap was his team’s classroom performance. In his first two seasons, his players compiled the highest cumulative-grade-point average in school history. NIU’s most recent Academic Progress Rate (the NCAA’s measure of academic performance) ranked the NIU football team 10th among all NCAA Division I schools.

In sharp contrast to Brewster, who pledged at his inaugural press conference in 2007 to take the Gophers to the Rose Bowl, Kill was decidedly short on promises of a quick turnaround. “As far as winning immediately next year, I can’t tell you that. It just doesn’t happen that you show up one day and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to turn it around and win today.’ . . . I can promise you this: We’ll go through the journey and work hard. And as long as we’re all together, you’ll get the results you want.”

—C.S.

KILL PHOTOGRAP H BY ERIC M ILLER; HE BERT PH OTO BY DAN MARSH ALL; M ETRODOME PHOTOGRAPH BY HANNAH FOSLIEN/GETTY IMAGES

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ess than 24 hours into his tenure as the Gophers’ new head football coach, Jerry Kill had already recorded his second victory at TCF Bank Stadium. The affable, self-deprecating native of Wichita, Kansas, won over skeptical sports reporters and wary boosters at his introductory press conference on December 6, good-naturedly acknowledging that he was no one’s top pick to take over the struggling program. Introducing his wife of 33 years, Rebecca, he divulged that he wasn’t her first choice either.

“This isn’t the first time maybe I haven’t been the first choice,” he explained. “I can live with that. But when I want something bad enough, I’m going to get it.”

Kill’s first win at TCF Bank Stadium was on September 25, when his Northern Illinois University (NIU) Huskies handed the Gophers their third straight loss in what would eventually mushroom to a nine-game losing streak. Coach Tim Brewster, 15-30 during his four years at Minnesota, was fired on October 17. Assistant coach Jeff Horton took the reins as Minnesota’s interim head coach, guiding the Gophers to consecutive victories over Illinois and Iowa to finish the season at 3-9. Kill was given a five-year contract that pays $1.1 million per year.

In 17 years as a head coach, 14 of them with winning seasons, Kill has compiled a 127-73 record, including three conference championships at NIU. During his tenure at Southern Illinois University (SIU), just prior to NIU, he turned around a program so chronically inept that the school had considered shutting it down. In his seventh and last season there, his 12-2 team made it to the national semifinal championship game.

Kill’s success is due in part to his knack for inspiring loyalty: He took his cadre of assistant coaches with him as he sojourned from SIU to NIU and has hired most of them to prowl the sidelines with him at TCF Bank Stadium. Kill considers stability in the coaching ranks the bedrock of a winning program, and achieving it at Minnesota would be a radical departure from the revolving door seen in recent years. “I think if you look at programs that turn around, you have to keep a staff and they have to be loyal,” Kill says. “You can’t have people going in and out.

There’s no continuity there.”

For all his good-natured charm, Kill—a survivor of kidney

A New Game Plan for Hebert Even as Mike Hebert announced his retirement as head coach of Gopher volleyball, he was strategizing a game plan with his new team. Hebert, 67, who stepped down on December 11, plans to devote some of his new free time to helping raise awareness and money for Parkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease research. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am going to join another retired volleyball coach to plan a strategy to do this through our professional coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; association and our sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national governing body,â&#x20AC;? Hebert says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to get on board.â&#x20AC;?

Parkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease is something Hebert knows intimately. In 2003 he was diagnosed with the disease after a stiff neck and slight shufďŹ&#x201A;e in his gait prompted a visit to the doctor. In a 2006 interview with Minnesota, he expressed optimism about his outlook and said he planned to coach for as long as he wanted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really like what I do. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not one of those who is seeking to escape the

work world to retire to a golf course in Arizona,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Hebert earned widespread affection and admiration in the collegiate volleyball world during his 35-year Hall of Fame career. In his 15 years at Minnesota, his teams went 381-125 and ascended to the ranks of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elite. He led the Gophers to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, eight NCAA regional trips, four NCAA regional ďŹ nals, three Final Fours, and one National Championship match.

Hebert said he felt the time was right to retire. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wanted to leave the program in good condition. As I look at next seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roster I believe the timing is right to accomplish that goal,â&#x20AC;? he says.

Next year the Gophers return all players from this seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 26-9 squad except three-time Allâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Big Ten selection Lauren Gibbemeyer. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;C.S.

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Off the Shelf A Meritocracy of Dubes Kevin Fenton’s comic, poignant fiction debut

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PHOTOGRAPH BY SARA JORDE

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t’s tempting to praise Merit Badges, the first novel by Kevin Fenton (J.D. ’84, M.F.A. ’05), by simply quoting one great sentence after another, because Fenton’s lines— full of sharp wit and uncanny analogies and ordinary truths you suddenly realize you knew all along but had never consciously examined—are among the book’s chief delights.

T h e re ’s t h e l i n e explaining why smalltown guys tend to speak uncertainly when discussing their feelings: “You have to make it clear that Kevin Fenton you don’t spend too much time hanging around your Fenton graduated from high school in 1977, in the real southown emotions, so your intelligence about them might be unrelieastern Minnesota town of Winona, and the novel is loosely able.” Or the one comparing a freeway to a drug, “but not one of based on his own experiences. That is, it contains what he calls your more interesting drugs, more like a combination of Novo“the spiritual DNA” of the people he knew growing up, although cain and speed, numb and nasty.” A hardware store smells like the characters, stories, and some geographic details of the a drugstore, “only less powdery and more rubbery.” Bowling Winona-like town are invented. sounds “like a storm at sea.” A car skids toward “It is an accurate picture of a world but an inaca guardrail “like all gravity got relocated there.” curate picture of any [particular] life in that world, Then there’s the marvelous riff, too long to including mine.” Fenton says. “My wife thinks the quote in full here, on how understanding June in four main voices are four parts of my personality, Minnesota requires experiencing the previous and I think she’s right.” months, in which winter “gets depressed and stops Merit Badges drops some fun ’70s references combing its hair and washing its face,” when the (Creepy Crawlers! Jiffy Pop! The Match Game!) air “is essentially a psychopath,” when the Februand colorful regionalisms (any annoying person ary snow “looks like an ashtray” and March’s blizis called a “dube,” which is short for dubious, a zards suggest that “the forces of randomness and pejorative Fenton suspects is unique to Winona). entropy are just showing off.”

Still, the book isn’t weighed down with local color Merit Badges, which won the 2010 Award for or nostalgia. It is, at heart, a universal story about the Novel from the Association of Writers & Writacquiring the experiences, skills, and maturity that ing Programs, follows four high-school classmates people gather, one hopes, en route to growing up. in a fictional southeastern Minnesota town called Merit Badges Characters drink beer and smoke dope and comMinnisapa as they move from adolescence in the By Kevin Fenton (J.D. ’84, mit minor acts of vandalism, find and lose rela1970s to early middle age in something close to the M.F.A. ’05) New Issues Poetry & Prose tionships and jobs, grieve untimely deaths, sober present. Quint is a rebel whose father’s death trig- (2011) up, settle down, acquire partners and careers. gers his self-destructive impulses, Chimes an ace Gradually, eventually, they locate and occupy their places in the bowler who becomes a permanent local, Barb a sensitive young world. Each of the chapters in Merit Badges is titled after one of woman both drawn to and repelled by the men she knows, and the tasks required for earning those iconic Boy Scout emblems— Slow a hyper-responsible list-maker who has to learn to tame his “Canoeing,” “Bird Study,” “Safety,” “Automotive Repair,” and so off-putting sense of rectitude.

on—poignantly reflecting the accompanying narrative in a way that suggests characters traveling their own individual journeys to figurative Eagle Scout status.

Those journeys don’t take them far, geographically. In the end, most of the characters wind up living in the Twin Cities, like the author himself. Fenton, who had been thinking about his novel for years, went to law school on the theory that practicing law would be a way to continue living in Winona while writing about it. But after earning a couple of merit badges of his own (he passed the bar in 1984), he discovered he was far more interested in advertising. Now he lives in St. Paul and has worked as an advertising writer for the past 20 years.

Did the day job help hone his flair for the catchy phrase, the apt analogy, the keen observation?

“My advertising has no artistic ambitions,” he says. “That said, the pithiness and zest of advertising is a nice addition to fiction.”

Whatever its sources of inspiration, Merit Badges is a lovely book about the commonplace but profound things that happen to people on the way to maturity. You’d have to be a dube not to like it.

—Katy Read

University in 1986, Paul doggedly worked to raise awareness about Meiman’s plight, contacting her elected representatives and enlisting the voices of friends and family. A 25-day hunger strike she waged on campus received widespread attention, and eventually, under increasing public and media pressure, Soviet officials relented and granted Meiman a visa.

Swimming in the Daylight is Paul’s memoir of her extraordinary bond with Meiman and her seemingly quixotic effort to challenge the Soviet regime.

Paul draws from journals she kept as events unfolded, and at times the writing is bogged down by extraneous details and dialogue. Nonetheless, the book is solidly written and engaging. It’s also an important personal chronicle of an era that exacted unimaginable suffering on Soviet Jews.

The title is taken from one of Meiman’s favorite short stories, written by Russian author Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, about a little fish that dreamed of swimming freely in the daylight.

That Meiman was able to achieve that goal in the United States, however briefly before her death, is a testament to Paul’s perseverance and great love for her friend.

The University of Minnesota’s Law School and Standing Up SWIMMING IN THE DAYLIGHT Center for Holocaust and to the Soviet Genocide Studies will cosponsor a lecture and book Regime signing with Paul March 10 Swimming in at noon in Room 609 of the the Daylight: An As a student at the UniversiSocial Sciences Building on ty of Minnesota majoring in American Student, the Minneapolis campus’s Russian-area studies, Lisa a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the West Bank. Paul will also Paul (B.A. ’86) spent two Gift of Hope present the first-ever Inna years working as a nanny By Lisa Paul (B.A. ’86) Meiman Human Rights in Moscow. She befriended Skyhorse Publishing, 2011 Award and a $500 scholarher Russian language tutor, ship to a University student who is makInna Meiman, a Jewish woman and a ing a significant difference in a human refusenik—one of tens of thousands of citirights issue. For more information, call zens to whom Soviet authorities refused 612-624-8383. visas to emigrate. Meiman, suffering from —Cynthia Scott cancer, was denied permission to travel to the United States for medical treatment after having exhausted her options in To see more books by and about University the Soviet Union, a fact that Paul simply of Minnesota alumni, go to www.Minnerefused to accept. Upon her return to the sotaAlumni.org/bookmarks.

“Lisa Paul has written a powerful memoir about hope, courage, and faith. . . . The lessons of this book are urgently needed today.”

—Dr. Alan Mittleman, The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York

An American Student, a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the Gift of Hope LIS A C. PAU L

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Arts & Events Strauss Goes Hollywood

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more time has enabled the University Opera Theatre to present increasingly challenging works. Walsh has been casting more and more undergraduates as the University has, for economic reasons, put a cap on the number of graduate students admitted. His Opera Workshop program provides a training ground to get the singers stageworthy by the time they’re juniors and seniors. “In fact,” says Walsh, “in the last opera that we did [Elmer Gantry], probably three or four of the major roles were sung by undergraduates, which is phenomenal when you consider just how difficult the piece was. But they were really up to it.”

Walsh, who is still on a high from Elmer Gantry, reports that the composer and librettist of that opera, Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein, were “blown away” by the U’s production.

The high-profile New York artists are in discussion with Walsh to workshop and co-premiere their next work. “It’s a sign,” he says, “that we are accomplishing good things.”

Die Fledermaus will be performed by two separate casts in English, with English surtitles, using a new translation by Walsh that hews to the German original yet allows for easy articulation and smooth transitions between song and dialogue—elements that make it a valuable vehicle for opera singers in training.

Performances run April 7 through 10 at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University’s West Bank campus. For ticket information, visit www.music.umn.edu/enscomp/opera or call 612-624-2345.

—Laura Silver

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SARA JORDE

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on’t let the frothy wit, infectious music, or cheeky satire fool you—Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat) may be a breezy delight for audiences, but it’s a strenuous workout for budding opera performers. That’s part of the reason David Walsh, director of the University of Minnesota’s Opera Theatre program, has chosen the popular operetta for its spring production.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, operetta, it’s not so difficult. It’s kind of fluffy.’

Not so,” says Walsh, who’s also an associate professor of opera in the U’s School of Music. “Die Fledermaus is extremely difficult because the music requires tremendous vocal and verbal facility. Some of it is extremely fast.

Some of it is extremely high. And the ensembles are tricky. It has frequent and very complex tempo changes.”

Each season, Walsh selects repertoire that will help give his young singers the skills they’ll need to survive in the professional opera world. left: University He also considers the thematic bal- From students Brianna Farah, ance of the season. The fall opera for John Grau, and Laurent the current academic year, Elmer Kuehnl rehearse Gantry, was a new American work, Die Fledermaus. a stark drama with a tough theme.

Walsh sees Die Fledermaus as a good contrast, and to boost the entertainment value even higher, he’s given the piece an updated setting: Hollywood in the late 1920s. Hollywood, he says, “is the same narcissistic, self-focused, self-glorifying kind of social world that existed in Strauss’s Vienna. It’s all about ego and lies, it seems to me. And there’s a heck of a lot of that in Hollywood.”

Johann Strauss, the “Waltz King” (of The Blue Danube and Tales from the Vienna Woods fame), and his librettists Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, based Die Fledermaus on a popular French farce. With its enchanting score and antic story—mistaken identities, flirtations at a masked ball, and an elaborate prank meant to wreak revenge for a drunken escapade—Die Fledermaus was a hit from the day it premiered in 1874. It’s a top-20 favorite of North American opera houses, and it’s been adapted for film and television, updated, reworked, and performed in translation all over the world, so Walsh is in good company in giving the operetta a new context.

Casting for Die Fledermaus took place last April to give the singers nearly a year to learn their parts—in Walsh’s phrase, to “sing it into their voice.” Preparing for an operatic role is something like training for a marathon, and giving the students

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Alumni Profile

Tom Matkovits and colleagues at Camp Corail, Haiti. From left: Bruny Red, Matkovits, Mario Leger, and Rocky Mabuga.

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s a seasoned manager in the commercial construction industry, Tom Matkovits (B.S. ’86) is accustomed to seeing projects through from start to finish—big projects, like overseeing completion of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan, Armenia, which he took on in 2009. The 47-year-old from Minnetonka, Minnesota, a dual citizen of the United States and Switzerland, is at ease globetrotting. He accepted the six-month contract in Armenia after being laid off from his job in the Twin Cities with Opus Corporation.

But no amount of international savvy could prepare Matkovits for post-earthquake Haiti, where he went in March 2010 to oversee construction of transitional shelters as a volunteer with the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee (ARC).

“My father left Hungary in 1956 as a 20-year-old refugee, so I’ve always paid attention to refugee issues. That’s the reason I got connected with ARC,” Matkovits says. After his initial six-month stint with ARC ended, he stayed in Haiti with the global relief organization World Vision for another six months.

Matkovits worked in Camp Corail, a tent city for displaced persons outside Port-au-Prince that the Haitian government established following the January 12, 2010, earthquake. “I’ve never been in an area that experienced that level of destruction before, so it was pretty overwhelming,” Matkovits says. “I’m used to having a high degree of overall control, and in Haiti there are so many things you can’t control that pop up from day to day.”

Things like mountains of rubble that constantly impeded efforts to get materials to the work sites; a cholera epidemic; bureaucratic entanglements that routinely caused delays; and a

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presidential election that left desperate Haitians rioting in the streets and Matkovits’s crew on lockdown for several days. “The day we finally broke ground and started working, we were told by the U.N. governing body that they decided to use the area for an emergency relocation site, so we had to stop, move to another sector, and start all over,” Matkovits says.

After about seven months, he and his team—Haitian engineers and field personnel, expatriates, and international volunteers—had completed 100 shelters on their way to the goal of 1,200. “After the first 40 or 50 it really started to feel like a community and a neighborhood, and that was really good. Some small businesses—a tailor, a food vendor—opened up. You get a real sense of satisfaction from having a part in that.” By the time Matkovits leaves Haiti this March he will have contributed to the construction of more than 1,000 shelters, which will house 5,000 people. “I take pride in that. Families who were previously existing in tents and under tarps now are living in solid, well-built structures with a proper roof over their heads,” Matkovits says.

Haiti’s enduring lesson for Matkovits? Don’t sweat the big stuff. “Rather than getting caught up with the ‘big picture’ issues and challenges, which remain daunting, my focus has been on the things I can control and influence, like being a good ambassador and leaving a positive imprint in the communities where I’ve worked,” Matkovits says. “This experience is going to have a permanent imprint on me personally in terms of having more patience in the way I approach my work and challenges in my life. I understand now that if things don’t go quite how I want or plan, that’s life.”

—Cynthia Scott

PHOTOGRAPH BY CARLOS CAZILOS

Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff

Thank You! The University of Minnesota Alumni Association says "Hats Off!" to the sponsors of our 2010 Etiquette Dinner.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Where members are ambassadors

Thank you for being a member and ambassador!

We appreciate your loyalty and support of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association.

With sincere thanks, The Alumni Association National Board of Directors

Your member dues sustain important association programs including advocacy, communications, and mentoring. Membership also supports your collegiate alumni society. View our annual report online at www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/FY10_AnnualReport.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Bell Museum of Natural History membership discounts 612-624-0089 Children’s Theatre Company special event & ticket offers 612-872-5319 Entertainment Discounts Nationwide movies, shows, parks, etc. 800-565-3712 Great Conversations Lecture Series ticket discounts 612-624-2345 Minnesota Landscape Arboretum membership discounts 952-443-1400 Northrop Auditorium special event & ticket offers 612-624-2345 U of M School of Music ticket discounts 612-624-2345 University Theatre/MN Centennial Showboat special event & ticket offers 612-624-2345 Weisman Art Museum membership discounts 612-626-5302

CAMPUS EVENTS AND DISCOUNTS D’Amico & Sons McNamara Alumni Center dining discounts 612-626-9659 Campus Club membership discounts 612-625-1442 U of M Golf Course season pass/alumni rates 612-627-4000 Gopher Athletics special event and ticket offers 612-624-8080 U of M Libraries library borrowing discounts 612-624-9339 McNamara Alumni Center rental discounts for life members 612-625-8876 Radisson University Hotel - Minneapolis alumni room rates and food discounts 612-379-8888 The Raptor Center program discounts 612-624-4745 Student Unions & Activities space rental discounts 612-625-7200

EDUCATION & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT U of M Center for Spirituality and Healing wellness program discounts 612-624-9459 CCE Short Courses course discounts 612-624-4000 Curiosity Camps registration discounts 612-624-4000 Libraries Publications Online access online publications 612-624-9658 U of M School of Dentistry continuing education discounts 800-685-1418 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) first-year membership discount 612-624-7847 Professional Development Courses continuing education discounts 612-624-4000 Split Rock Arts Program workshop discounts 612-625-1976 U of M College of Veterinary Medicine continuing education discounts 800-380-8636

CAREER RESOURCES & NETWORKING CCE Career & Lifework Planning consultation discounts 612-624-4000 U of M Counseling & Consulting Services career assessment discounts 612-624-3323 U of M Career Counseling and Assessment Clinic assessment package discounts 612-625-1519

FINANCIAL SERVICES Affinity Credit Card Issued by Bank of America Call Bank of America at 800-932-2775; priority code UABA5Z Auto and Home Insurance alumni rates 800-225-8281 Life & Medical Insurance alumni rates 888-560-2586

Where members are ambassadors

Member Benefits TRAVEL AND LEISURE Alumni Travel Program www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/travel Car Rentals/Hotel Discounts 800-625-8664

COMMUNICATION Minnesota magazine subscription with membership Alumni Association e-mail updates monthly benefit e-mails 800-862-5867

GOPHER APPAREL AND GIFTS University Bookstore merchandise discount 800-551-8636 Gold Country/Goldy’s Locker Room merchandise discount 612-331-3354

JOIN TODAY! www.MinnesotaAlumni.org • 612-624-9658

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Alumni Association

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Foil Play The Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) offered a full complement of classes for female students at the University of Minnesota in the 1930s.

Governed by its motto “Play for play’s sake and not for points’ sake,” the WAA’s classes included major sports such as basketball and ice hockey as well as rifle marksmanship, tap dancing, riding, hiking, and fencing, as pictured in this photograph from 1933.

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INSIDE Legislative Briefing Draws Hundreds Journey to Galapagos “Steelroots” at the Arboretum An Awesome Opportunity

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Alumni Association

The Galapagos Islands: What a Trip!

A land iguana

The red pouch on the throat of the male frigate bird expands during courtship. He is pictured with a female that invited him into her nest.

It’s tough for a first-time visitor to the Galapagos Islands to heed this advice from a naturalist: Close your mouth when you look up at the birds. The impulse is to gape, both at the birds’ abundance and the exotic beauty of the magnificent frigates, blue-footed boobies, brown pelicans, and numerous other species that fill the sky.

Eleven Minnesotans traveled to Galapagos January 21 through 29 for Voyage of Discovery: Wonders of the Galapagos Islands, one of the trips offered in the Alumni Association’s Travel Program. The group flew into Quito, Ecuador, and spent two days touring that city and the surrounding area before flying to Baltra, one of the Galapagos islands, where they boarded the M.V. Santa Cruz cruise ship. From the Santa Cruz they embarked in pangas, small motorboats, for daily excursions to five islands.

Once on the islands, tourists became eager students of natural science and history. The 19 islands of the Galapagos archipelago, located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, are home to distinct multiple ecosystems that support species found nowhere else in the world, including the world’s only nocturnal gull and marine iguanas. Charles Darwin’s observations of the abundant and varied life on Galapagos inspired his theory of natural selection and evolution as presented in On the Origin of Species in 1859.

The government of Ecuador designated the Galapagos a national park in 1957. The islands are strictly managed to ensure preservation of their unique ecology. Only naturalist-led excursions are permitted, and no naturalist is allowed to lead a group larger than 16 people. Up-close encounters with birds and animals are frequent and amazing. The islands’ creatures exhibit a lack of wariness that comes from living on isolated islands and are more likely to show indifference or curiosity than fear when humans approach.

Viewing the Galapagos’s most famous inhabitant, the giant tortoise, was a highlight of the trip. Stunning, powerful, and prehistoric in appearance, the iconic reptile can weigh 600 pounds and live 100 years or more. Explorers in centuries past

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The swallow-tailed gull is the world’s only nocturnal gull.

captured and slaughtered thousands of tortoises, rendering numerous subspecies extinct or endangered. Though now protected from humans, tortoises face a threat from nonnative black and Norway rats—they eat tortoise eggs—that proliferated after arriving on the islands via ship decades ago.

The Minnesota group visited the Charles Darwin Research

A giant tortoise

Station on Santa Cruz Island, which has a program to restore the tortoise population. In a time-consuming, painstaking process, scientists collect eggs from the wild, replicate conditions that allow for hatching—eggs must remain in precisely the same position at the research facility as they were when they were removed from the nest in the wild—and raise the babies for several years until they can be introduced into their natural habitat.

Snorkeling, shopping in two of the Galapagos’ small port cities, and relaxing on board the Santa Cruz with new friends punctuated the daily excursions with the naturalist. In the evenings, gaping became a less risky proposition, as it was directed down at the water, where splendid sunsets, frolicking

National Board Chair

Imagine Defeating Alzheimer’s PHOTOGRAPHS BY CYNTHIA SCOT T

Cameras and human foot traffic did not interrupt this blue-footed booby’s snooze.

sea lions, and the occasional reef shark provided the entertainment.

The Alumni Association Travel Program offers trips to many other fascinating destinations throughout the world. For more information, go to www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/ travel.

—Cynthia Scott

Rethinking the Alumni Association What will the University of Minnesota Alumni Association look like a year from now? Three years from now? The National Board of Directors and the staff are in the midst of an intensive strategic planning process that aims to transform your Alumni Association. Stay apprised of the plan’s progress and give us your input at www.

MinnesotaAlumni.org.

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n January 19, 2011, we held the largest Legislative Briefing to date. More than 400 alumni and friends gathered at the McNamara Alumni Center for the annual event and were joined by U supporters all across the state via video at three of our coordinate campuses—Crookston, Morris, and Duluth. This record attendance speaks to the serious situation our state and the future of quality higher education face—and to the commitment that so many people have to the U. Thank you to those who came out on that cold evening to learn what you can do for the U and to all alumni who continue supporting our beloved University with strong advocacy.

I want to share a personal story with you, something that has affected my family to our core and a situation that, sadly, is familiar to too many of you.

Four years ago, my mother fell ill with Alzheimer’s.

As I lost my father when I was 5 years old, my mother has played a pivotal role throughout my life. She has been my hero as far back as my memory reaches, and watching her deteriorate has been the most difficult Ertugrul Tuzcu thing I have ever coped with.

My mother lives in Istanbul, and I travel there several times a year to be with her. Last summer, she still knew who I was but no longer recognized my wife, Karen, or my daughter, Zeynep, now 18. It broke Zeynep’s heart. “It is me, Babaanne,” Zeynep kept saying, using the Turkish word for “grandma” and failing to hold back her tears. “It’s your granddaughter. How can you not remember me?”

The sense of despair and powerlessness this disease inflicts on families is indescribable. While my mother has occasional bright days, we know that she will not improve and come back to us. But this does not mean that we do not maintain hope.

The fact that researchers at the University of Minnesota tirelessly work to defeat Alzheimer’s gives me great hope for a world where future generations will not have to experience this progressive and fatal disease, which has been called the public health threat of the 21st century.

A few examples: Neuroscientist Karen Hsiao Ashe, who famously demonstrated memory loss reversal in transgenic mice, was honored at the 2010 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference for her achievements in advancing Alzheimer’s research.

The U’s School of Public Health, along with four other academic medical centers, was recently selected to be a partner in a $26 million study to identify risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

And north of TCF Bank Stadium, what was once acres of parking lots is now a corridor of research buildings, equal in floor space to the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis. Inside the Winston and Maxine Wallin Medical Biosciences Building, 200 researchers specializing in brain sciences will search for answers to Alzheimer’s and other devastating diseases.

These endeavors and others like them would not happen without ongoing, broad-based support of the University, the state’s only comprehensive research and land-grant institution. The University needs alumni more than ever to speak out for their alma mater, which is essential to the state and its economy.

Our University of Minnesota is Driven to Discover—let us, as alumni, be driven to advocate for this great institution.

—Ertugrul Tuzcu (M.S. ’78)

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Alumni Association

Roots Soar at the Arboretum The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will present “Steelroots: Touching Earth & Sky,” a unique outdoor exhibition of 16 massive root forms sculpted in steel by artist Steve Tobin. Tobin is best known for his work Trinity Root, the only art memorial near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

Sculptures will be sited around the Arboretum’s Oswald Visitor Center and along a half-mile paved walk from the visitor center to the popular Maze Garden. Highlights will One of Steve Tobin’s include sculptures of massive rolled and bent steel pipes “Steelroots” soaring up to 40 feet, a pair of bronze root sculptures sculptures at Chicago’s titled Romeo & Juliet, a bronze sculpture of a forest floor, Morton and steel interpretations of pine cones.

Arboretum “Steelroots: Touching Earth & Sky” will run from

Steep Funding Challenges Continue University President Bob Bruininks struck an urgent, blunt tone in his address to the record number of participants who assembled for the 2011 Legislative Briefing on January 19 at the McNamara Alumni Center.

Speaking at his final briefing before he steps down as president in July, Bruininks offered a candid view of the steep challenges the University faces during this year’s session as legislators and the governor grapple with a $6.2 Bob Bruininks rallies billion budget deficit. participants at his final The University, mindful of the state’s Legislative Briefing as University president. economic challenges, requested that the state maintain, not increase, the U’s forecast base of $642.2 million, the figure the Minnesota State Legislature set last year. Bruininks said that amount will allow the University to make essential investments in student financial aid, meet rising core costs, and fill key open faculty positions.

“We think this request is reasonable, but I think achieving this request is going to be difficult if not impossible,” Bruininks said.

“Your efforts are going to be needed more than ever before. The University is Minnesota’s most essential educational, cultural, and economic institution, and we have to get that message across.”

In a departure from years past, Bruininks put the crowd on notice that he might turn to them to help advocate for the U in

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Congress as well as at the state capitol. U.S. House leaders, he said, are discussing deep cuts in federal student aid, in addition to cuts to the National Institutes of Health and other major funding sources. “We’re talking about changing a 60-plus-year Alumni Association partnership between government members Jenny and Jim Pichler at the Legislative and education, and I think it’s a Briefing very, very serious threat not only to the University’s future but also to the future of our economy and quality of life,” Bruininks said.

The Legislative Briefing opened with a keynote by Peggy Flanagan (B.A. ’02), the first American Indian to be elected to the Minneapolis School Board and a community organizer.

Flanagan spoke eloquently about how enrolling at the University of Minnesota changed her life and called on participants to share their own personal stories Keynote speaker Peggy Flanagan

A special welcome to our newest life members.

April 16, 2011, through January 30, 2012.

Tobin will be the special guest at a Meet the Artist event on April 14 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Arboretum. For more information and directions, visit www.arboretum.umn.edu.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest, is part of the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. Several annual membership levels are available, beginning at $45.

University of Minnesota Alumni Association members receive a $5 discount on any level.

about the U with their legislators.

Each participant was photographed holding a placard stating why the University matters to Minnesota. The statements were prefaced with “Because,” the current slogan of the U’s Driven to Discover campaign. Photos were then e-mailed to participants’ legislative representatives. In all, 448 messages were sent.

For more information on the University’s legislative request and its current status, visit www.

MinnesotaAlumni.org/advocacy.

—C.S.

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FLANAGAN PHOTOGRAPH BY NICOLE HOLDORPH; OTHERS BY PATRICK O’LEARY; STEELROOTS PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSEPH FOUTS

Ryan Maus from the Office of University Relations photographs Regent Linda Cohen, who holds a message to her legislator.

(reflects October 16, 2010 – January 14, 2011)

DONALD D. ANDERSON M.J. ANDERSON LANCE L. ANDRIES GEOFFREY D. ARCHIBALD HAROLD J. BAGLEY TERRYL M. BAGLEY CHERYL BANGASSER LYNDA B. BANY SCOT A. BECKER BETTY V. BEIER JOHN B. BELBAS JOAN C. BELLIN PAUL S. BERGER ALAN E. BERNICK DAVID P. BEYER DENNIS W. BOOM JESSUP A. BORDSON ROBERT W. BORRE THOMAS F. BROTHEN ANN E. BROWNLEE DEANNA H. BRUCE MARK O. BYERS CASEY M. BYRNE BRENDA H. CANEDY LAURA K. CHADDHA SANJEEV CHADDHA DONALD W. CHAN KONSTANTINOS CHATZINAS KE CHEN WILLIAM D. CHURCHILL JAMES J. CLARK FRANCES G. CORWIN GREGG M. CORWIN BRUCE R. COX JOCELYN A. COX LYNDA J. CRAMER NATHAN CURLAND TIMOTHY E. DOHERTY VALERIE K. DOHERTY MARY I. DONAHUE DANIEL P. DOUVILLE DAVID C. DUDDLES ELIZABETH W. DUDDLES ELLEN DUNCANSON LINCOLN J. DUNCANSON GORDON M. DUNKLEY RUSSELL L. EDHLUND REMI EICHTEN ANNETTE C. ELIZABETH DAWN R. ELM SONIA N. FEDER-LEWIS VALERIE W. FELSKE JENNIFER M. FITCH THOMAS M. FITCH ERIC N. FRAME FREDERICK G. FROGNER BARRIE R. FROSETH MARK R. GOUGH CARL J. GRAMENTZ DONALD C. GRANT RUTH A. GRANT TROY J. GRIVNA ROBERT K. GROGER TIMOTHY G. GULLICKSON

SALLY S. HARRIS CHERYL A. HARRISON WILLIAM H. HARRISON ANDREW H. HASS KATHERINE A. HASS DANIEL L. HOFFMAN RONAELE K. HOFFMAN ARTHUR L. HOGENSON DONNA I. HOGENSON THOMAS O. HOLKER YEO S. HONG KENNETH W. HORNS MICHAEL G. D. HOUGH DANIEL W. HUGHES JONDA E. HUGHES MATTHEW S. HUNT BALASUBRAMANIAN K. IYER LATHA B. IYER LISA M. JACOBY ANNA K. JAROMBEK DOUGLAS B. JOHNSON LELAND M. JOHNSON MARIETTE JOHNSON RONALD A. JOHNSON JANET A. JOKELA MAHROUS M. KANDIL DENISE M. KAPLA JOSEPH L. KAPLA ELSA J. KARMAN JEAN L. KING THOMAS R. KING GENE R. KREMIN KATHRYN KRUGER MICHAEL L. KRUGER JILL C. LEONARD TODD A. LEONARD JAMES E. LEWANDOSKI SHIMIN LI KARIN J. LIBBY LI-JEN T. LIN JUDITH N. LINSE SAUKWAN LO SING F. LO LAWRENCE A. LOKKEN HAO LU ROBERT H. MAGILL RUFINO S. MAGNO ERIC MALINEN JOHN M. MANAHAN KATHLEEN F. MANAHAN TRENA M. MATHIS LYLE M. MATTSON RICHARD H. MAYWALD PETER N. MCGEE SUSAN MCGEE JEFFREY M. MCLAUGHLIN LISA M. MCLAUGHLIN HAILE MEHANSHO MARLYS H. MELIUS TIMOTHY J. MENNE SUSAN S. MEYERS KELLY MILKUS JAMES B. MOE JANICE N. MOE

ROSEMARY MONETA ROSENGREN WILLIAM G. MOORE THOMAS E. MORIN JULIE A. MOSENG RANDALL D. MOSENG JAMES G. MOULSOFF JEAN M. NAGEL SCOTT D. NAGEL JOYCE M. NOYES RICHARD W. O’CONNOR CHRISTINE H. ORTHMANN MICHAEL F. PATRICK RICHARD J. REISDORF KEVIN C. RILEY TODD A. RINGGENBERG HEATHER L. ROCHEFORD BRENDA L. ROONEY DANIEL M. ROONEY NELSON M. ROSARIO MERRY A. ROSENBERG ESTEN A. RYE J. GARY SANDER PATRICIA J. SANDER COLLEEN B. SARGENT COREY R. SARGENT JEAN-PAUL X. SCHIRLE-KELLER JOEL T. SCHNEIDER MARY SCHNEIDER DAVID W. SCHOEDER KATHLEEN J. SCHUMACHER RYAN D. SETTERHOLM CYNTHIA M. SHARP HARVEY L. SHARP WEIYIN SHEN CHIKA SHINOHARA DAVID H. SKARJUNE CHARLES R. SMITH WILLIAM D. SMOKA SARA A. SPRINGMEYER MARK K. STASSEN JOHN P. STENZEL DAVID C. STREIF JAMES K. STRUVE KENNETH R. TALLE PATRICK J. TOFT WILLIAM R. TOLONEN MARK A. TRUTNA VICTORIA A. TVETER CAROL B. VAN WHY KAREN A. VOGL TIMOTHY B. WAHLBERG BETTY J. WEBB PAUL J. WEINER DONNA M. WEISPFENNING ROBERT M. WHEELER SUSAN L. WIIK DAVID A. WILLIAMS AMY B. WIREBAUGH SUSAN M. WITTKOPF JENNIFER WOLF MATTHEW H. WOOD ASAD U. ZAMAN RICHARD J. ZEYEN

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Alumni Association An Awesome Opportunity Energize your career in the company of other young professionals with “Unleash Your Inner Awesome,” a free professional development and networking series cosponsored by the Alumni Association, Young Professionals of the Twin Cities, and the University of Minnesota College of Continuing Education.

Sessions will be held on March 24, April 28, and May 26 at Spill the Wine, 1011 Washington Avenue South in Minneapolis, beginning with networking and happy hour at 5:30 p.m. and followed by workshops from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Space is limited, so reserve a spot at www.cce.umn.edu/ awesome.

Summer School for Adults

PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM RUMMELHOFF

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Plan to spend this summer satisfying your desire to learn at a Curiosity Camp, sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s College of Continuing Education. The popular daylong camps for adults offer lectures, Participants discussions, and field trips on a wide range in a previous of topics led by University faculty members. Curiosity Camp, The 2011 lineup will include comic book “Essential Geology,” camp, which will explore the historical get their and political comics in the University’s hands dirty examining Andersen Library collection; physics rocks. camp led by Dan Dahlberg of Physics Force, an entertaining and educational demonstration of physics in everyday life; and geology camp at Taylors Falls, Minnesota.

University of Minnesota Alumni Association members receive a 20 percent discount on the $125 registration fee, which includes meals and transportation to and from camp sites. To see the full schedule of camps and to register, visit www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/benefits.

Adaptive Leaders...

Talking about Human Rights University of Minnesota Law School Dean David Wippman and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson will discuss law as an instrument of social change at Great Conversations on April 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Coffman Union. Robinson is a world-renowned human rights activist and Wippman is a noted human rights scholar. Great Conversations is presented by the University of Minnesota College of Continuing Education and features University of Minnesota scholars in discussion with leading figures about the day’s pressing issues. A moderated question-and-answer session and dessert reception will follow.

Alumni Association members receive a $5 discount on the $20 admission fee.

Seating is limited, so register in advance at www.cce.umn.edu/conversations.

View of Downtown Minneapolis from Coffman Memorial Union, East Bank campus

Professional Master’s in Arts and Cultural Leadership Designed for professionals in the arts and cultural community who aspire to creatively develop and lead an organization.

Master of Liberal Studies Choose virtually any combination of subjects to create an interdisciplinary program of study around your personal and career goals.

www.cce.umn.edu/Leaders

Offer code: 3471

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. © 2011 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Join the Friends of the U of M Libraries!

Discover the diverse and dynamic University Libraries—all 14 of them!

Friends of the Libraries members receive: • Borrowing privileges • Libraries publications • Invitations to special events, readings, and exhibits

2011 programs include: April 2 Kerlan Award Ceremony featuring Jane Kurtz April 12 Second Annual Pankake Poetry Lecture featuring Louis Jenkins May 10 Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries Annual Dinner featuring Garrison Keillor Alumni Association members receive a 50% discount on Friends of the Libraries borrowing privileges.

www.lib.umn.edu/friends w w w. M i n n e s o t a A l u m n i .o r g

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In maroon-and-gold face paint, students Matt Hornung (left) and Reese Weber cheer the Gopher menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball team to a victory over Iowa at the Barn in January. To see more images of the student section, go to www.MinnesotaAlumni.org/fans.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY NELSON

About Campus Campus Seen

24-HOUR SERVICE | SECURITY PROTECTION | ONLINE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

Get something back for your everyday purchases. Use your University of Minnesota Alumni Association Platinum Plus® MasterCard® credit card with WorldPoints® rewards, and you’ll earn points you can redeem for cash, travel, merchandise, even unique adventures.♦ Rewards for the things you buy anyway. You also have the chance to show your support for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association every time you present your card.

To apply, call toll-free

1.866.438.6262

Mention Priority Code VAAHXR. You can also visit www.newcardonline.com and enter Priority Code VAAHXR.

For information about the rates, fees, other costs and benefits associated with the use of this card, or to apply, call the toll free number above, visit the Web site listed above or write to P.O. Box 15020, Wilmington, DE 19850. ♦ Terms apply to program features and Credit Card account benefits. For more information about the program, visit www.bankofamerica.com/worldpoints.

Details accompany new account materials.

This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. The WorldPoints program is managed in part by independent third parties, including a travel agency registered to do business in California (Reg. No. 2036509-50); Ohio (Reg. No. 87890286); Washington (6011237430) and other states, as required. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated, and is used by the issuer pursuant to license. WorldPoints, the WorldPoints design and Platinum Plus are registered trademarks of FIA Card Services, N.A. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. All other company product names and logos are the property of others and their use does not imply endorsement of, or an association with, the WorldPoints program.

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©2010 Bank of America Corporation

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BAD-03-10-12492 FEB2010

THE QUARRY & THE LEGEND AT GIANTS RIDGE

Experience the best!

EARLY SEASON TROON REWARDS Play The Legend or The Quarry at Giants Ridge for

Only 52 $

*

plus tax

Monday through Thursday from opening through June 2, 2011.

*Must register for complimentary Troon Rewards Program to be eligible for this special rate.

May register for Troon Rewards in Golf Shop upon tee time check-in. Must mention this offer at time of reservation.

U of M Alumni Golf Outing — See Page 10 THE QUARRY #13 © PETER WONG

Best golf. Best value. Best experience.

Definitely two courses on any golfer’s bucket list.

The Quarry #1 and The Legend #3 – “Best Public Courses in Minnesota” #46 – “Best Golf Resorts in North America” – Golf Digest, 2009-2010 PLUS GREAT LODGING SPECIALS

6325 Wynne Creek Drive, Biwabik, MN 55708

giantsridge.com | 800-688-7669